Savior
by AngelofDarkness1605
Summary: Mrs. Lovett is threatened by one of her customers. Only Sweeney Todd can protect her, but will he be there when she needs him the most?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Sweeney Todd, Mrs. Lovett and other characters you might recognize._

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**Savior**

Chapter 1

It was another extremely busy day in Mrs. Lovett's pie shop. The customers ate faster than she could think, let alone bring them their orders. It had been like this for hours; the stream of customers just didn't stop.

"Six more pies!" she said to Toby, while she put her tray on the counter and caught her breath for a moment. "And bring those gents in the corner their ale."

The boy did what he was told and she hurried towards another table to serve to those men. She immediately returned to the counter for more pies and put them on another tray, and when those were served she returned to the counter once more. One endless routine that exhausted her beyond words. She had been very poor until recently, but at least she hadn't had to _work_ so hard.

Even more customers entered her shop and officially it wasn't even dinner time yet. Among them was a group of four extremely noisy men, and one of them, a tall man with brown hair that seemed to be even bolder than the other three, was clearly their leader. Mrs. Lovett was quite sure she had never seen him before, yet he looked strangely familiar. But she saw so many different people in her shop every day, and she was too busy now to really think about it.

"Toby!" she yelled, slightly desperate. "I need more ale!"

She could only hope there were enough pies left in the bakehouse – making new ones now was simply out of the question. Even if they could be baked within five minutes, it wouldn't be fast enough and in reality it took almost three hours to bake the pies.

"Toby!" she shouted again, "I need more ale, _now!_"

She hurried towards another table, the one where the four newly arrived customers just sat down.

"Bring us some gin!" their leader yelled at her before she could even ask them what they wished to order. "Eight cans to start with!"

Luckily there was still some gin left, so Mrs. Lovett hurried back to the counter, almost running, and she emptied two bottles of gin into eight glasses. She hoped that those men would calm down a bit if they had something to drink; for even in Mrs. Lovett's opinion they made too much noise and were too bold.

She carried eight cans towards them, four in each hand. They were heavy, but she thought that she would made it to the table.

Unfortunately, at the last moment one of them slipped out of her hand, and it fell upside down on the table. The gin dripped from the table onto the clothes of one of the customers; he was that arrogant looking man who had ordered the drinks earlier.

"Hey, you!" he shouted aggressively. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You can clean that, bitch!"

Maybe she was used to it, or maybe she was daydreaming while working again, but the cruelty in the man's voice went by mostly unnoticed.

"I'm so sorry sir," Mrs. Lovett said, "but please don't worry about it. I'll give you two new cans immediately, and you can have them for free."

"New gin or new pants?" he shouted daring to her retreating back, causing his friends to laugh loudly.

"Well done Peter," one of them shouted to him. "Don't let her get away with this!"

Mrs. Lovett forced herself to stay calm and ignore the pathetic men. She grabbed two new cans of gin and brought it to the table where she put it down, this time without spoiling it. Yet the man, whose clothes she had accidentally ruined, yelled in anger.

"New gin? Do you think it's that easy?" the man who was called Peter shouted, like it was a huge offence that she had offered him a new drink. "You ruined my pants! Do you have any idea how much they cost?"

She cast a quick glance at the men. Their clothes looked even more expensive than they had seemed when she watched them from the distance when they had entered her shop; especially those the man who addressed her was wearing.

"Well?!"

"I'm so sorry sir, I can pay for the cleanings costs, and…"

"Cleaning costs? Who do you think I am? This can't be just cleaned… I need new pants and since it's supposed to match perfectly, I need to buy a new shirt and coat too!"

It was absurd, and she knew it. Yet, he was clearly a powerful man, and she didn't want to get in trouble by ignoring him.

"But sir, I can't afford to…"

"Well, _you_ ruined my clothes, not me, so it's _your_ problem. And look at all these customers here… I'm sure you have more than enough money."

"It's going well sir, but not well enough to…"

She glanced again at his clothes, which looked so expensive that she wouldn't be able to buy it even if she had ten pie shops.

"I can't pay for that, sir. I'm so sorry."

She walked away form the table, trying to escape from the impossible man.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Peter yelled after she had gone only a few steps.

She turned around impatiently to tell him again that she was sorry but couldn't pay for it, but she never got the chance. He took one of the glasses of gin that she had just brought him and threw the liquor into the face of the pie maker.

She was too shocked to say anything or walk away any further, or even to notice that it was suddenly very quiet in the usually noisy shop.

The liquor dripped from her face and dress, causing it to stick against her body in a very inelegant way. She shivered from the sudden cold and wetness, but what scared her was the man, who looked at her shamelessly, like she was a prostitute.

He grabbed her wrist and before she could do something to prevent it, he pulled her into his lap. She tried to break free from his hands, but he was too strong to fight.

He eyed her while he smirked wickedly and his gaze focused on her chest, which moved rapidly in fear. Then he pulled her against him and mockingly toyed with the laces of her dress.

"You may be a fortunate woman now, Nellie Lovett, but I know there were times when you sold your body for a few pennies. It seems I'm just too late to enjoy that, but, luckily, those clothes you ruined are worth more than that. A lot more."

Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment at his words, and she had to blink back the tears when she felt his lips against the sensitive skin of her neck.

He loosened the strings of her dress and Mrs. Lovett shivered when his hands touched her partly exposed back.

"Don't be shy, bitch," Peter grunted. "You used to do this every day, didn't you?"

She couldn't hold back the tears any longer. The man was right, no matter how cruel he was. It had been awful, and it was terrible to admit it, even to herself, but he was right. When her husband had deceased and she was all alone, and the customers avoided the shop she now owned, she had to do _something_ to be able to buy some food, or keep the place where Benjamin Barker once might return to.

But those days were gone forever. The shame, the humiliation, the physical and emotional pain. She closed her eyes, her mind thinking of a thousand things she could do to escape, but her body was numb.

"Well, I'm glad you finally shut up," he said viciously while he moved his hand to her lower back. "Women mustn't talk, they only say nonsense anyway."

She shuddered with fear once more, desperately trying to think of a way to escape, but that attempt failed miserably.

One of his hands lingered on her hips, and he whispered obscenities in her ear. Inwardly, the baker screamed, kicked, cried and ran, but her body was too weak to do anything. She didn't even notice that every single customer was staring at her. All she felt was how the man's hands touched her body in a way even her late husband hadn't dared.

But before it could get any worse, she felt an object going through the air, barely missing her head.

One second later Mrs. Lovett heard a sickening sound of metal against bone, and the grip on her body was gone.

The first thing she saw when she dared to open her eyes again was Toby, who was standing there with a tray in his slightly trembling hands.

Then she looked down, and there was that horrible man. He clearly was unconscious now, and a pool of blood formed on the ground near his head; but to her he seemed almost just as treacherous as before.

After one more second of unbearable silence, the customers cheered as one person and shouted congratulations to Toby. But the small boy didn't pay attention to them; his big brown eyes were focused on the still shivering woman. He offered her a hand to get up from the man's chair on which she was sitting now, but she didn't take it.

Instead, the pie maker ran out of the shop. She didn't see that the crowd attacked the friends of the man who had almost raped her, and that they threw his unconscious body in the mud on the street, while they cheered loudly. They congratulated Toby once more, and some of them gave him a huge tip, before they continued their meal like nothing had happened.

For Mrs. Lovett of course, it wasn't that easy. She fled into her bedroom and locked the door carefully behind her. She collapsed on her bed and hid her face in the pillow. She cried, and didn't stop doing so for a long time, while the fear never left her system. The baker couldn't get the memories out of her mind; new and old ones transformed into one horrible and seemingly endless vision.

She had promised herself it was the last time when an elderly man had refused to pay her and had humiliated her even more. She had said to herself she'd rather starve than go through that again. She had managed to ban that part of her past out of her mind, but now it was back, so graphically that she feared she even couldn't forget it when she slept.

Her pillow was almost soaking, but still the hot tears didn't stop coming. She shivered from the cold once more. Her back was exposed and the remains of her dress were still wet from the gin, but she was too weak to pull a blanket over herself to prevent herself against the freezing darkness.

Half on hour later, someone knocked on the door. Mrs. Lovett ignored the sound. She knew it was Toby who wanted to comfort her, but she didn't want to see him. He had saved her and she would be eternally grateful for that, but she didn't want to tell him because by doing so she would have to admit what had happened, and for the time being she was unable to face the things that were done to her.

So she pretended to be asleep; but the oblivion she longed for wouldn't come for a very, very long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mrs. Lovett tossed and turned, hoping that sleep would bring her a new day soon while cold sweat slowly dripped from her body. She was sure that she would feel better if she could see the sun again and if she wasn't surrounded by darkness and memories.

After a few hours of lying awake and trying _not_ to remember what had happened that evening, she couldn't stand it anymore. The walls from her bedroom seemed to move forwards as if they wanted to crush her.

The baker feared she was losing her mind, but she couldn't stand to be in the room one more minute, even if that meant that she had to go back to the shop.

She stood up from her bed, ignoring the smell of gin which lingered on her dress and skin, and walked slowly towards the shop. She wanted to postpone seeing that place as long as she could, but at the same time something made her walk back to the room which she had fled from a few hours ago.

It wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be: her shop looked like it always did at night; the only difference was that she refused to look at the corner where Peter had been, as if that man had never humiliated her if she didn't look at the chair were he had sat.

Mrs. Lovett headed for the counter where she quickly counted the money, just to have something to do. In the hidden till was a larger sum of money than she had ever seen in her life. She presumed that the customers had given quite some tips to support her. This was a pleasing and comforting thought, until she realized that those men and women had only paid so much to square their guilt for doing nothing when the baker had needed their help.

The baker felt like destroying the money, but could prevent herself from doing so only at the last moment. This was all she had been working for all her life after all.

She snarled sarcastically when she realized this. Money… it was so important, but only for the poor and now that she was rich herself, she realized money itself wasn't worth anything. Its only purpose was to buy things. But what she wanted couldn't be bought; her dreams would never be more than dreams no matter how many pounds she owned. The love from the only person in the world she had an overwhelming fondness for couldn't be brought. Never. It made money useless for her. For what were some pieces of metal or ink and paper compared to one tender word, one gentle caress, one single kiss?

Suddenly, she heard something that sounded like breaking glass. The baker looked around in panic and the fear and stress that had been gone while she was thinking about Sweeney Todd were back within a second.

"Who's there?" she said, her voice weak.

There was nothing but complete silence. She sighed deeply, cursing her own paranoia – but then she heard it again, and now she was sure of it. Someone was breaking the glass of the windows in her shop. Would it be a beggar who wanted to sleep in her shop like two years ago, or would it be a burglar?

Then she heard something else. Someone was _laughing_.

She recognized the voice immediately.

A hand appeared through the broken window and turned around the key, which was still in the lock. If she ever saw Toby again, she'd kill him because he hadn't put away the key, like she had told him to so many times. But that was the last of her sorrows now.

Peter opened the door of the shop slowly, as if he could scare her more if he did so.

Mrs. Lovett closed her eyes briefly, praying that he would be gone if she opened them again, but of course it was no use.

The silhouette of that man standing there at the entrance of her shop, just watching her as if challenging her to scream or run away, was enough to make her gasp for air desperately.

She looked around quickly, but of course there was no one who could help her. The only things that were there were some glasses and plates on the table next to the counter, where she usually did the last preparations for the pies. But then a flash of silver caught her attention. Behind the glasses on the table lay a knife. Not knowing what else to do, she stepped forward slowly to grab the knife and then she stepped back again, as if nothing had happened. It was dark in the shop so she was pretty sure the intruder hadn't seen it. She hid the weapon behind her back. If she wanted to use the knife to protect herself, he had to get closer to her; if she ran towards him, he would be alarmed and then she wouldn't have a chance.

"No," she muttered, hoping to distract him. "That can't be. You… Toby beat you, you were thrown on the street… you were _unconscious_!"

"Well, one good thing about money is that you can afford to see a doctor and you don't have to visit one of those frauds your kind is forced to trust. In the hospital they stitched the wound on my head, gave me a painkiller _et voila. _Here I am again, to finish some business."

She stared at the man, unable to believe how arrogant and bold he was to see her as 'business'.

"Surprised to see me?" he asked mockingly, while he stepped closer to her again.

When he approached her she was reminded of her plan. She feared the man, but he was injured and she had a weapon. She straightened her back and a little bit of hope returned.

While he walked towards her like he was hunting prey, she was focused on all his movements and was ignorant to other things that happened around her. She refused to show any sign of fear and she held the knife tight in the sweating palm of her right hand.

But he took his time, as if he enjoyed the process of scaring her. But all Mrs. Lovett did was try to think of the best way to defend herself. She could 'just' hurt him or try to kill him. She could stab his heart, or cut his throat. It couldn't be that hard, since Mr. Todd killed numerous of people that way every day.

Adrenaline ran through her system and she trembled, but not with fear. She stood her ground, tightening the grip around the knife once more while she waited for the opportune moment.

Her eyes were filled with hate and lust for revenge, just like Sweeney Todd's, and her attitude was one of a killer instead of a scared woman.

Peter sensed it too: his steps faltered and he even stood still, but he wasn't close enough yet.

"She's up to something," the man said. "She should scream, or run away."

Only a far corner of the baker's mind noticed how weird it seemed that he referred to 'she' instead of 'you', since her body was so focused on taking revenge upon the man who had humiliated her.

She stepped away from him, but with only one purpose: to lure him closer. He needed to think that she was vulnerable and scared, so she could surprise him. If he knew of the knife only one second too early, she was lost.

The trick worked: the feigned vulnerability caused the man to step closer to her again, while he licked his lips and eyed her from top to toe, his gaze focusing on her breasts while he closed the last distance between them.

He reached out his hand to touch her, but at that moment she jumped forward and aimed with the knife for his chest with all her power.

Everything during the next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. Her hand moved, but it was too slow, and from the corner of her eyes she saw to her bewilderment that a second, a third and even a fourth person stepped from the dark corners of the shop and ran towards them. The man that reached them first grabbed the baker's arm, so the knife was stopped when it was only centimeters away from Peter's heart.

Only when someone forced her wrist in a very painful position so she was forced to drop the knife, did time pass again in the normal way.

"Well, well, what's this?" Peter asked. Though he tried not to show it, she felt he was shocked by her sudden attack, but it didn't give her faith now that she was held tightly by two men.

Peter cast a few more glanced through the shop, just to be sure that there were no other surprises and then he relaxed. He picked up the knife from the ground and he studied it nonchalantly.

"So, you thought you could stop me?"

The other men chuckled cruelly; Mrs. Lovett realized they were the same men who had visited her shop with Peter that afternoon.

Although her mind was still working, her body seemed to be paralyzed. The way she was being held captive told her that she couldn't escape from the things that the four men probably intended to do with her.

Without saying one more word, the three friends of Peter dragged her towards one of the large tables in the room. They this did this in such a fluent way that Mrs. Lovett was sure they had done this before and probably had planned to do this since the moment she had accidentally spilled the gin.

They lay her down on the table mercilessly and pinned her arms and legs against the cold, hard wood of the surface.

A smile crept onto Peter's face as he watched her struggle frantically; he clearly couldn't wait to have his way with her.

Mrs. Lovett's eyes widened in fear and she screamed, but one of the men covered her mouth with his hand before she could produce any sound.

"Quiet, you bitch," he hissed. "You have challenged the wrong person this afternoon."

"Don't let her go," Peter said to the others, "no matter what she does."

The realization what was about to happen hit her. She tried to pull her limbs from the man's grips, but it seemed impossible. Yet, with an almost unnatural desperation, she freed one of her legs and she managed to kick one of the men who pinned her onto the table. He screamed in pain when her feet hit his kneecap, but the others quickly managed to take control over her again.

"Can you hurry?" the man who she had kicked asked Peter, annoyed, but Turpin didn't do anything except stare at Mrs. Lovett as if he could undress her with his eyes.

"No need to hurry," he said, "this lady caught my attention ages ago when I had to keep an eye on her neighbor when my brother has asked me to do so. Unfortunately her husband guarded her like she was a pile of gold and he made it clear to me that he didn't like it if I approached his wife. He told me that he would make sure that I'd regret it if I touched her, no matter who I was."

Absentmindedly, he touched a scar on his forehead before he continued talking.

"Only days ago I found out that this woman's husband died a while ago… so I felt she deserved another visit now that he wasn't there to prevent me from seeing her anymore. When I was in your shop, I noticed you have lost nothing of your boldness and you…"

Mrs. Lovett didn't listen anymore, for the words the man had said already kept echoing in her head. Her neighbor? His brother?

Peter noticed her confusion through her fear.

"Oh, didn't I introduce myself?" he asked, flashing a fake smile. "How rude of me. Peter Turpin; at your service."

He bowed to her mockingly, ignorant to the look of utter terror on Mrs. Lovett's face that was caused by the announcement that he was the brother of the man who had raped Lucy Barker.

"I'm sorry we haven't met properly before, but you see, usually I spend my time in Paris and I arrived in England only yesterday to visit my brother."

Peter eyed her once more intensely and his gaze alone was enough to terrify even Mrs. Lovett.

"Enough time wasted," he said, all feigned politeness gone. "Hold her until I'm done with her. She's a wild one and I don't want any interruptions."

The grip on her limbs became even tighter, but she had stopped fighting for she knew it was useless.

"I smell gin," Peter whispered when he closed the distance between them. "How nice of you… how did you now I like that?"

Tears formed in her eyes when she realized this would be worse than she had ever thought. She found herself as the object of a man's obsession. _This was what Lucy Barker must've felt like_, was the thought that went through her mind when the other Turpin bowed over her and traced the line of her jaw. Mrs. Lovett wanted to crawl away from him, but it was impossible for her to even move her head.

However, there was one thing she could do. In a wave of fury she couldn't suppress, she spit in Turpin's face.

"You bitch," he screamed, hysterical because of her action. "Who do you think…"

The rest of his sentence was inaudible because of his rage.

He let himself fall on top of her and when she tried to get away from underneath him, he pulled her hair in such a violent way that she screamed from the pain.

The sound was muted when Turpin forced his mouth onto hers.

Again she tried to fight him, but he was so rough and caused her so much pain that the only thing she could do was close her eyes firmly and pray it would be over soon. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't ignore his mouth on her body, his heavy breath and the feeling of the clothes that with were torn from her body.

She didn't know what exactly he was doing and she didn't _want_ to know, because it hurt so much. She screamed again but it was no use. When Turpin attacked her neck and shoulders with his teeth, she bit in the hand of one of her captors.

She tasted blood and she smelled it too; about the latter she couldn't tell whether it was of one of the men's or her own.

In the few seconds it took one of the other men to cover her mouth, she screamed. It would probably make the situation even worse because to her Turpin seemed the kind of man that would _enjoy_ her fear and pain, but she couldn't stop it. She simply had to do _something_ to show that she hadn't lost her will and that her spirit wasn't broken.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

For Mrs. Lovett the horror didn't seem to end. Turpin was hurting her in the most terrible way, yet he wasn't even doing what she feared most.

She was unable of moving and she couldn't even scream anymore since her throat ached so much.

The baker had never been a religious person. She went to church because it was expected of her, but she had never believed in God and she had never done more than mumble the prayers along with the crowd. But now, she begged Him to end this, no matter how. Even if she'd have to die, she'd rather so that than go through this for one more second.

Because her mind was so far away from what was happening to her body, she didn't notice at first that one of her legs was released. But then, to her bewilderment, both her arms were free too. Someone screamed, but this time it wasn't her. The sound stopped quickly and abruptly.

Mrs. Lovett dared to open her eyes and looked up. Blood was the first thing she saw. It was everywhere. On the table; on the chairs, which were lying randomly on the floor; on the floor itself and even on her.

The source of all the blood was the bodies of the men who had pinned her to the table. Or at least, that was what Mrs. Lovett thought. But when she looked at Peter Turpin (or what was left of him), she realized that most of the blood must been from him. Not only his throat was cut like the others, but his body had been stabbed numerous times.

However, the one who was covered in blood most was the only other living person in the room.

Wide-eyed, Mrs. Lovett watched her savior, not believing that of all people, _he_ had come to rescue her.

"You…" she muttered, overwhelmed with so many feelings at the same time that it was too much to bear.

"Yes, me," was all Sweeney Todd said.

Gently he helped her sit up, pretending not to see her torn clothes.

He wrapped his arms around his landlady. In all other circumstances she would've questioned the uncharacteristic gesture of friendship and trust from the demon barber towards her, but now her life was so upside down that it was the least of her sorrows. Although the worst part was over, the baker trembled violently.

Sweeney comforted her with soft and reassuring words, which were strange to hear from his mouth, but at the same time they sounded very right.

Mrs. Lovett clung to him as if the nightmare would come back if she ever let him go.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly after a few minutes.

She was unable to speak again, but inwardly she screamed _no_.

He sensed it somehow and just held her small body, which was shaking now that the tears had finally found a way out and her brain slowly but surely started to realize what had happened.

"I'm sorry I didn't come earlier," he said while patting her back gently. "When I heard you screaming, I went here as fast as I could, but…"

"It's alright Mr. T," Mrs. Lovett sobbed against his chest. "If you wouldn't have come, then…"

Another wave of grief hid her and Sweeney kept holding her, making sure not to touch her too intimately.

Minutes later, the tears finally stopped falling.

"Why did you come?" She didn't know why she asked it, but she did. "You don't care for me, no matter how much I want that to be different. Yet, you risked your life to save me… why?"

He was silent for such a long time, that she thought he wouldn't reply.

"It was the scream," he finally said. "It was exactly how I had imagined what Lucy's scream must've sounded like. During all those long hours in the night, I always wonder how…"

He shook his head, as if he wanted to get rid of those memories.

"I couldn't save Lucy, but I can save you," he said, staring to his feet.

The thought that – again – Lucy was the reason behind his actions didn't bother Mrs. Lovett at that moment. To be held in such a way was an incredible relief. The demon barber knew exactly how to hold her and comfort her. She wanted to savour the feeling; even in this situation she realized how unique the behaviour of the barber was. But she was too exhausted.

Lulled by the barber's words and the feeling of his heart beating firmly, she dozed off. She didn't notice how Mr. Todd brought her to her bedroom, helped her to get in bed and pulled a blanket securely over her body. Then he walked out of her room, quietly, to make sure he wouldn't wake her.

Despite the sleep, Mrs. Lovett didn't find the oblivion she craved. In her dreams Peter Turpin and his friends broke in her shop again, forced her down once more, this time not stopped by Sweeney Todd.

She spent the darkest hours of the night restlessly, sometimes screaming in fear or disgust. When the dawn broke, both her body and mind weren't able to handle the nightmares anymore. Thankfully, she allowed herself to fall in black emptiness.

The following day, she woke in the afternoon. For one heavenly second, she didn't remember what had happened, she only wondered why she felt so horrible and why her body ached. But when she noticed the remains of her clothes that fell shapelessly around her, every disgusting detail of the past night hit her, explaining why she intuitively felt so terrible.

Then, she found out that there was someone lying next to her and his arm was around her waist.

Mrs. Lovett screamed, thinking that the memory of Sweeney Todd saving her was only an illusion, created by her desperate mind, and that she was still about to be raped.

"Don't worry," a voice mumbled sleepily. "It's just me."

"Mr. T?" she didn't know how to react to this new threat. "What are you… _why_ are you in my bed?!"

Only one day ago she would never have dared to ask that question in this situation; she would've been immensely grateful if he finally showed some sign of interest in her. But last night's events had changed things dramatically. Mrs. Lovett didn't trust men anymore, not even the former Benjamin Barker. He was a _man_ after all and that type had gone too far by hurting her in the worst way possible.

"I'm so sorry," he said quickly. "I don't want to scare you. You _know_ I didn't intend to sleep in your bed, but you kept screaming in your sleep. I couldn't stand it. When I was here to see how you were doing, I…"  
"You did _what_?!" she asked, knowing it couldn't be good since he stared at the ground in embarrassment.

"You took my hand and told me you would never let go."

"I can't have," she said firmly, shaking her head in disbelief. "I was asleep."

"Maybe…"

Mr. Todd showed her his forearm, where there were four red lines, obviously caused by digging nails from a small hand.

"But I never…"

"Shut up," he growled, sounding again like the demon barber that she knew so well. "I did this for _you_. I pitied you. I was watching over you, but only to comfort you, to do you a favour. But I fell asleep in your bed, I couldn't help it. Like you know, I'm a married man. Even though I said my vows more than twenty years ago and my wife's dead, she still is my wife. I won't betray her, no matter what she might've…"

"What did she do?" Mrs. Lovett asked quietly, suddenly curious about the woman who had been through the same things as the baker herself had been through: the only difference was that it had been worse in Lucy's situation.

"It's none of your business," he snarled, obviously mentally slapping himself for mentioning his wife.

Mrs. Lovett unconsciously shuddered at his outburst. Mr. Todd noticed, and his look of annoyance was replaced by one of compassion.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"Don't worry," she said, relieved now that he wasn't so harsh anymore. "I'd never have been able to sleep if you weren't here, I think."

He nodded, trying to look nonchalant, but there was something in his eyes… Mrs. Lovett had been focused so much on things like this in the past that she recognized the look in his eyes now. Despite the situation, he couldn't fool her.

"You liked it too," she said breathlessly, the realization of this allowing her to forget about what she had been through for the shortest moment. "You_ enjoyed_ lying next to me."

She couldn't believe it and she wasn't sure if she _wanted_ to. Sweeney Todd was called the _demon_ barber for a reason and if there was one thing she didn't want, it was being threatened again in the same way as the previous day.

Mr. Todd didn't notice the look of confusion in her face.

"Your warmth…" he said, almost inaudible, before he closed his mouth, realizing he had spoken this thought aloud.

No matter how happy this would've made her in the past, she didn't feel good about it now – besides, she was sure she would never feel good again.

Quickly she stood up from the bed, wanting more space between them. Understanding the hint, he got out of her bed too, revealing he was only wearing his pants; he had pulled of his blood soaked shirt last night and hadn't had the time to find another.

Mrs. Lovett had desired to see him this way in the past, but now she felt nothing but repulse when the memories of Peter Turpin forcing himself on her hit her again.

Bluntly she turned her head away from him, not sensing his confusion.

"Take a bath," was all he said before he picked up his shirt and left her room quickly.  
"I can't," she said to his retreating back. "The shop has to be opened."

"Yes, let's open the shop," he said sarcastically, turning around to face her. "Your beloved customers will get hungry when they see the corpses and blood."

"Haven't you…"

She blushed in shame because she had automatically expected him to have removed the bodies from the shop and cleaned everything.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, her cheeks burning.

"You don't have to worry about that," he said, acting friendly again. "The shop is closed. I'll take care of everything. Just try to sleep some more first and then take a bath. You might feel better then."

After that, he left the bedroom.

She let herself fall back on the bed and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the scenes from the previous night that played in her head again and again.

Then the consequences of the massacre in her shop dawned on her. The customers, the furniture, the unsold pies, Toby, the barber shop…

But Mr. Todd had said that he would take care of it and that was very reassuring. He probably only did so to be able to continue killing his own customers, but it didn't really matter. He had saved her and he looked after her now instead of the other way around. Because he was near, she dared trying to sleep again.

"Thank you, Mr. T," she murmured before she closed her eyes again, thinking that he would never hear her.

But he did. The slightest hint of a smile reached his face when she spoke so gently.

Only when he was sure that she was sleeping as peacefully as was possible in her situation did he close the bedroom door while wondering why the ill fate of the woman had had such an impact on him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sleep brought Mrs. Lovett the rest she needed, though she somehow couldn't relax as much as when Sweeney Todd was next to her. But neither dreams nor nightmares interrupted the blissful oblivion; that was enough for the time being.

She even continued sleeping when the barber screamed in horror as he read the name that was written on one of the corpse's wallets.

She wasn't aware of the unnatural power with which he dragged the bodies to the bakehouse; of with how much energy he cleaned every inch of the dimly lit pie shop and of the kind way he looked after Toby, who was recovering from a hangover in the barber's shop. Nor did she notice how the barber filled a bathtub with water that had been warmed near the oven in the bakehouse after he had personally transformed the bodies into pie meat.

While he was cutting the bodies into pieces, Sweeney wished that he had been able to stop Peter Turpin before he had assaulted Mrs. Lovett. How could he not have known that the Judge had a brother who was just as evil? He wished he could make it right, all this injustice, but the pain and fear that had been caused was so deep that it couldn't be soothed.

After the pie shop looked again like nothing extraordinary had happened there, Sweeney returned to his room to start his own work with even more passion than usual, motivated as he was by the Judge's brother, who had ruined another woman's life.

However, Toby was still sleeping in the barber chair. There weren't any customers yet, so Mr. Todd picked up the boy and carried him downstairs to Mrs. Lovett's parlour, where he laid him on the couch where the boy usually slept.

When he was downstairs anyway, Sweeney couldn't resist the urge to check on Mrs. Lovett. Soundlessly, he walked to her bedroom and opened the door. It was dark inside; she had shut the curtains. Although he couldn't see her, he didn't want to disturb her in her sleep, so he left the room again, closing the door carefully behind him.

When he was on his way back to the barber's shop, he heard an unidentifiable sound as he passed the door to the bakehouse. At first he thought that he heard Toby awaken, but then the barber realized that the noise came from the basement.

Without thinking twice, Sweeney Todd took one of his friends out of the holster on his belt and held it in front of him, ready to kill whoever had entered the bakehouse.

He entered the basement and closed the heavy door soundlessly behind him. The barber listened closely and when the soft sound reached his ears again, he descended the stairs.

When his foot reached the floor, he sneaked further into the bakehouse, without making any sound, until he could see who had intruded the basement. When he did so, it took him a few seconds to realize what was happening in front of him.

The person, who had made the sounds that he had heard, was Mrs. Lovett. She was taking a bath in the tub that he had filled for her, but which he hadn't told her about yet.

He stopped dead in his tracks, watching her, not knowing what else to do.

Furiously she scrubbed her skin; the perfume of soap lay heavy in the air. He realized what she was doing: she was trying to remove the embarrassment, clean the mental dirt. It was useless, but he felt that it was something so needed to go through.

What he felt too was that his presence was really uncalled for. She couldn't see him, but he could see her. The tub protected her body against his gaze, but every time she moved, he could see a part of her back or breasts. He knew very well that he should go away, that watching her was the worst thing to do, but he couldn't help it. It seemed like his feet were rooted in the ground and he was simply incapable of tearing his gaze away from her. The realization that the Judge, his brother and he himself had a fellow taste in woman dawned on him hard. Sweeney Todd told himself he loved his Lucy and that he didn't care for any other woman, but his wife was not in his mind when he watched his landlady, the latest victim of the Turpins, washing her hair thoroughly for a fourth time.

After a few more minutes, Mrs. Lovett reached for a towel that was lying next to the tub to dry the long curls of her hair. What would happen next was predictable. Mr. Todd saw it coming, but he simply didn't leave and was even unable of closing his eyes.

She stepped out of the tub, and in the few seconds before she put on a bathrobe, the barber had a glorious view on her naked body. It seemed extremely pale and soft, especially now that the water dripped from it.

The demon barber stared at her from the darkness, dumbfounded, his mouth open in an attempt to get some air in his lungs. For the first time since more than a decade he actually _felt_ something. Nothing like revenge or melancholy, which usually consumed him, nor was it love, the emotion he felt for his long lost wife that was there all the time, like an ever continuing song in the back of his head that he was unable to ignore. What Sweeney Todd felt now was new, something he hadn't felt almost as long as he could remember: desire.

While he battled himself mentally to get that feeling out of his system, Mrs. Lovett walked towards the door of the bakehouse. She was less than three yards away from him and Sweeney could see the tears in her eyes. When she was so close to him, with nothing but a bathrobe to hide the beauty of which Sweeney Todd suddenly craved to see more, he suddenly felt just as lost as Mrs. Lovett, though in a very different way.

A few minutes after the baker had left the basement, Sweeney Todd was finally able to move again. He walked up the stairs, but his steps were less certain and firm than before. The image of the bathing Mrs. Lovett was printed in his brain, and he was afraid that he would never get it out of his head.

Sweeney let his body fall on the first chair he spotted in Mrs. Lovett's parlour. He would've remained sitting there for a long time if Toby hadn't woken up at that moment. When the boy mumbled something about customers, Mr. Todd realized that there was, as if the new circumstances of the past few hours weren't enough already, the usual business to take care of.

"You," he said to the boy, who was clearly confused now that the barber instead of his adoptive mother talked to him early in the morning.

"Where's Mrs. Lovett?" Toby asked, while sitting up on the couch.

"She isn't well. You have to tend to the customers today," Sweeney Todd said, without mentioning one more word about the baker.

Toby looked as if he wanted to ask more questions or disobey the direct order the barber had given him, but then he got up and walked quickly towards the pie shop, grabbing an old piece of bread from the table to have something for breakfast.

As usual, Sweeney Todd didn't feel like eating something. Instead, he watched how Toby sold pie after pie to the impatient customers. Luckily, there were plenty of pies from the previous day. They probably didn't taste as good as they usually did, but at least the boy had something to sell.

When the barber was sure that Toby could handle everything by himself, he returned to his barber shop, where the first customer was already waiting.

During the day, Sweeney Todd killed his customers with even more bloodlust than usual, as if he could take away some of the pain that had been caused to his landlady or could cut out the piece of himself that was attracted to Mrs. Lovett.

But it was unsuccessful, and at the end of the day all what he had, was a pile of corpses, a hungry boy, and an apparently lifeless baker.

Toby was easiest to take care of. He gave the boy a few pennies so he could buy himself a meal, then he went to the bakehouse after he had made sure that Mrs. Lovett was really in her bedroom this time, not allowing himself to be deceived by closed curtains again.

In the basement, he cut the bodies in pieces so that at least that part of the work was done. He knew that Mrs. Lovett wouldn't be back soon and he didn't blame her. He would have to try to figure out as soon as possible how he could bake those pies himself. He was quite sure that if he had some sort of recipe he could handle baking the pies himself for a while. Then Mrs. Lovett could rest and take a break until she felt better. Toby had proven today that he could run the shop all by himself as long as there were enough pies. The customers didn't know that Peter and his friends had returned last night, but they all understood that the pie baker deserved a break after the incident of the previous day.

While he chopped off the limbs, Mr. Todd mused how ironic it was that all the woman he cared for ended up hurt (or worse) because of the Turpins. First of all his Lucy, then his Johanna, and now Mrs. Lovett. Even though he didn't love her in the way his heart belonged to Lucy and Johanna, he cared for her, and today he had to admit that her body looked rather charming too.

But the reason that he was worried about her was much deeper. She had done so much for him after all. It was time to do something back.

When the last body was cut into pieces, he cleaned his hands in the cold water in the tub, trying to ignore the fact that Mrs. Lovett's body had been soothed by the same water hours before.

One minute later, he knocked on her door. Mrs. Lovett didn't give him permission to enter; she didn't say anything at all. But he hadn't expected her to anyway. So he entered the room without her approval, closing the door carefully behind him.

"How do you feel?" he asked her quietly.

A desperate sob told him enough.

"Mrs. Lovett, I…"

Although he could tell she tried to suppress it, she started to cry, her body shaking violently.

"Don't be afraid," he said. "It's me. I won't hurt you. I'm just here to look after…"

She didn't stop crying, not at all. And if it wasn't enough yet, she had trouble breathing too. While he watched her helplessly, she began to hyperventilate. She fought for breath, but her terrorized body seemed to be sick of resisting.

Before his landlady could give up completely, he took her in his arms, not caring about the insinuations of this.

"Mrs. Lovett, it's alright," he whispered in her ear. "You're safe. Nobody will hurt you. I'll make sure no one will. Don't be afraid, I…"

But it didn't work. She took in short, desperate breaths of air, but it wasn't enough to fill her lungs. He could feel her petite body struggle in his arms, but there was nothing he could do to help her, except for persuading her to fight the panic and fear within her.

"Mrs. Lovett, please," he begged her. "Try to fight. Don't let him win. You must be strong. He's dead; you don't have to fear him anymore. I made him pay. But you have to breathe. Please, try to _breathe_."

He was aware of the fact that he was actually begging his landlady to get better, but it was the only thing he could do. He simply needed her to survive, for if she died, just like his Lucy, injustice would prevail once more. Then, he would be totally alone in the darkness of London, and once more he'd be too late to save a woman he cared for.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"It doesn't matter," Mrs. Lovett managed to say, a few literally breathtaking minutes later. "If I'm dead, it's all over."

"Nellie, _don't_!"

Sweeney Todd was almost yelling now, and only later did he realize that he had addressed her by her first name. It seemed to be the only right thing to do now, as if she might listen to him if he showed her that he knew her well enough to call her with her given name.

Her body was awkwardly silent now and her chest hardly moved anymore.

"Nellie," he said once more, his lips close to hers, as if he could force her to take in air like this.

"Why should you care anyway?" she asked, practically inaudible.

"Because I've known you for more than twenty years, in which you have done nothing that makes you deserve this."

"Twenty years…"

Her eyes met his and if he hadn't known better, he'd swear that he read some sort of longing in her eyes.

"Benjamin?"

He wanted to scream that he wasn't the naive and weak Benjamin Barker, that he was Sweeney Todd, but upsetting her now was the worst thing to do. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment, and it felt like her survival was depending on his reaction.

"Yes," was all he said.

"Benjamin," she muttered with her last strength. "I always knew you'd come back for me."

She closed her eyes again, and one hand reached for his arm weakly. He gently squeezed it, watching how she relaxed and how the rhythm of her breath steadied.

For some reason he wanted to hold her closer to him, but he had to prevent himself from getting too close to her once more. So he just held her hand while he rested his head and upper body on her bed.

A feeling of relief and triumph took over him. He had saved her; the Turpins hadn't won this time. Mr. Todd had done more than killing people who had committed sins already; he had rescued someone who was a victim of one of those crimes.

When her breath was almost normal again she drifted into sleep. He gently released her hand and covered her body with her blanket. This would protect her against the cold and he wouldn't have to stare at the curves of her body anymore.

Benjamin Barker would never even consider doing the latter and although he had sworn that that man had died along with Lucy, Mrs. Lovett seemed to find great comfort in the thought that the younger and more naive version of himself was around. It was weird and confusing. Benjamin was apparently the one who was helping Mrs. Lovett right now, but it was Sweeney Todd who felt some sort of attraction towards her.

The barber shook his head, wondering why things could never happen in a normal and manageable way. It probably just wasn't meant to be, like he was supposed to lose his wife and daughter and stay behind with Mrs. Lovett.

Suddenly, it was too much. The negative emotions he usually felt were mixed with a sudden and desperate longing for the woman who was lying in bed. He fled to her parlor so they wouldn't be in the same room anymore but so he still could make sure that no one would bother her. It felt like it was his personal mission to keep Mrs. Lovett out of the claws of men like the Turpins while he waited for his chance to kill the one of the brothers that was still alive.

The baker didn't feel at all better that morning. It was as if Peter Turpin was still touching her, still was going after her, still breathing on her. She had dreamed about dying – she was almost free from everything, when Benjamin had begged her to come back and she had fought to do so – for how could she refuse to do something that Benjamin wanted her to do?

But now he was gone, and with him the security that he provided. Shy and naive Benjamin, the man who wouldn't hurt a fly, the man who wouldn't use his power in a wrong way like all other men did – Benjamin, the one she loved and lived for. He was the one that kept her going and she had been sure he was at her side last night, but now he was gone again and all that remained was the fear and pain.

There was a knock on the door, causing her to jump.

"Enter," she said, her voice shaking. She had no idea who could possibly visit her; she could only pray it wasn't someone from her nightmares who would tell her that the fact that she was saved was just a dream and that she was still in the power of Peter Turpin.

The door was opened, revealing that Sweeney Todd was the one who wanted to speak to her. Seeing his pale skin and the white streak in his hair was a disappointment; she was somehow sure that she had seen Benjamin last night, and this man clearly wasn't Mr. Barker. His eyes were angry and suddenly she remembered how Sweeney Todd had looked at her before; there had been a lustful glint in his eyes, almost exactly the way Peter Turpin had looked at her.

"Mrs. Lovett?"

Something in his voice made her relax, for it sounded almost like the Benjamin she remembered.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Horrible," she answered truthfully, her voice still weak.

"I made you something to eat," he said gently while he offered her a plate with some kind of vegetable on it. She had no intention of taking it from him, since her stomach hurt from the fear and tiredness and it would only get worse if she take even one tiny bite.

All in all, it was really ironic that he looked after her now instead of the other way around, but she didn't care about it. All she wanted was to fall asleep and wake up many hours later, knowing that all this had been one big nightmare that had come to an end.

"Mrs. Lovett? Are you..."

"Why aren't you calling me Nellie anymore?"

She didn't know why she asked; she wasn't really curious about it anyway. Maybe she did because she didn't want him to force her to eat and she hoped she could distract him this way.

"Well, I…"

In fact he knew why very well: he wanted to distance himself from her, afraid as he was of the feelings that took over him for a few seconds when he had entered her bedroom minutes ago and had seen how beautiful she was, just lying there half asleep, as if she was waiting for something.

"Why not?" she asked again.

"Because you were very ill yesterday and I hoped that I'd…"

His speech faltered while he wondered why he told her this anyway.

"Do I look like I'm better now?" she said, suddenly wanting nothing more than to hear him say her name again. Whether he was Benjamin Barker or not, his voice was reassuring to her. "Please, just… say my name."

"Well alright," he replied, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "If you want me to… Nellie."

She sighed and made herself more comfortable in the bed. It sounded so beautiful to hear him say her name. She had never really liked her name, but when he said it, it sounded so much better, almost heavenly.

"Say it again," she demanded, and so he did, again and again, until he almost whispered that one word. She really looked more at ease, and after half a minute, her eyelids shut and almost immediately she was sleeping again.

Mr. Todd looked at her for minutes, thinking how odd it was that two days ago he wouldn't even look at her; and that now she was suddenly so damn important to him. He wasn't sure how it could've happened; maybe because she had experienced what Lucy had been through, and he could accept Mrs. Lovett in his life now that there was some sort of connection of that kind between his wife and the baker? But it was a fact that he cared deeply for Mrs. Lovett now, even though he hadn't really noticed her until very recently.

Before he returned to his barber shop, he stood at her side for a few more seconds, looking down at her sleeping form. Before he could stop himself, he leant down and kissed her forehead very lightly.

"Sleep well, and get better soon."

Maybe it was only in his imagination, but it seemed that a small smile reached her lips.

The days passed slowly, in a dull rhythm.

Mrs. Lovett spent most of the time in bed. Toby ran the pie shop all by himself. It was hard for the little boy, but he managed, especially because Sweeney told him that he did his mum a huge favor doing this.

Mr. Todd himself ignored his pride and baked the pies, since Mrs. Lovett had written down the recipe for the famous meat pies for him.

The barber worked all day and most of the night, but that was least of his problems. He never slept much anyway. The only thing he did worry about was Mrs. Lovett herself. It was a week ago since Peter Turpin had tried to rape her, but she still felt as scared and weak as on the moment it had happened. She hardly even dared to leave her bedroom. Sweeney Todd was the only one she talked to, but that made things only worse in a way. Although he made sure very carefully that he wasn't around when she took a bath in the basement every once and a while, he couldn't help but remember how she had looked when she was undressed. He tried to deny it, both because of his Lucy and Nellie herself, but he did feel attracted to the baker; in a physical way at least. He hadn't touched a woman for many years, and now he spent so many hours at Mrs. Lovett's bedside; he couldn't help but notice how good-looking she was.

One night, he was sitting in a chair next to her bed again, watching how she struggled in her sleep against the memories while the sweat slowly dropped from her forehead onto her pillow and whimpering sounds reached his ears through her parted lips. He tried to resist it, but he was unable of holding back the urge to touch her. He reached for her upper body slowly and caressed her stomach through the blanket. Sweeney Todd felt as filthy as the Judge and his brother, but he simply couldn't stop his hand that traced the curves of her body. He thoroughly hated himself, both for scaring Mrs. Lovett even while she slept and for doing something like this in the first place.

She struggled slightly, and she moaned in fear because he still hadn't removed his hand. He watched her with fascination, willing himself to let her go but simply being unable to do so. She shivered and he shuddered too, but for a very different reason. Sweeney Todd was afraid as well, but this was because Mrs. Lovett made him feel in a way that only his Lucy was supposed to do.

Because of his inner turmoil, he didn't notice that he was waking her.

"Mr. Todd!" she cried, seconds later when her eyes burst open. "What are you doing?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sweeney Todd could only stare at the baker, while the light of a few candles fell on her face. She had an exotic beauty that only now caught his eye.

She noticed his gaze and she pulled the blankets powerfully over her body, even hiding her head, but he kept staring at her, admiring her openly.

"I… I'm sorry Mrs. Lovett," he finally managed to say. "I shouldn't have done that, it's wrong. I hope I didn't…"

He shook his head in confusion, not sure what he wanted to say, not even entirely certain he was truly sorry that he had enjoyed his landlady's warmth for a few seconds.

"How can you do that," she asked, her voice telling him how offended she was. "You know what happened to your wife and you hate the one responsible, but you are treating me exactly the same!"

Her outburst only made him feel more admiration for her and it took him a lot of effort to tear his gaze away from her.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Lovett," he managed to say once more.

"Then why did you do it?"

It was a logical question, one that he couldn't answer. He didn't know himself why he had touched her.

Her eyes bored straight into his and there were too many emotions in her eyes. They fascinated him so much that he found himself incapable of breaking the eye contact this time.

"Well... During the past few days, it seems that I…" He wasn't sure at all how to say this. "I care for you, Nellie. I care for you deeply."

"So? Is that an excuse to touch me like that while I'm asleep, thinking I won't notice it or won't mind? You're just as bad as they are."

Although she didn't mention the Turpins directly, he knew exactly what she was talking about. Her comment hurt, especially because she was completely right.

Sweeney bit his lip, wondering how he cold apologize and convince her that he was not like the Judge in his brother.

"It's not that bad, Mr. Todd," she sighed, when he saw how guilty he looked. "It's just a little bit _late_."

"What do you mean?" he asked, truly confused now.

"You really don't realize, do you?" she asked, avoiding his gaze now. "I've been…"

Her speech faltered; she didn't dare to admit what she had felt for him for many years, until she was confronted with Peter Turpin and she had sworn to never let a man come close to her again. But now, when Sweeney Todd's pleading eyes observed her, she started to remind the feelings she once had had for the barber, whether he was still Benjamin Barker or not. In his black orbs, of which most people would say that they were filled with darkness, only she could see the hints of light that were still in them.

"You've been what?" the barber asked gently. "You can tell me… you can trust me. I'll try to help you."

"I know you will," she said, gratitude visible in her eyes. They both realized it was unlike Sweeney Todd to help someone, but this situation was clearly an exception because of the involvement of another Turpin.

Because of Mr. Todd's help, Mrs. Lovett slowly started to remember things that had happened before Peter Turpin had assaulted her. She began to realize again how she had longed for Benjamin Barker, especially now he had confessed that he actually cared for her.

"Mr. T, you have to know that…" She found herself still incapable of saying what she had intended to say.

"Are you sure you won't kill me?" she asked instead, looking at the razor in the holster on his belt.

"I won't kill you," he said, an unreadable expression on his feature. "I don't think you can tell me something so shocking that I have to do something to you that is worse than what you have been through already."

It wasn't the confirmation she was looking for, but at least it was something.

She looked up at him again into those black eyes which weren't filled with hate for a change; only with concern.

"I was in love with you."

She spoke the words very silently and he almost had to ask her to repeat it, because he wasn't sure he had it correctly. An awkward silence fell when it dawned on him what she had said. Was it true what she said? Had she been in love with _him_?! He had never noticed anything like that, and…

Mrs. Lovett noticed his discomfort and shifted restlessly in her bed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I know you love Lucy and that you miss her so much. Just forgot that I said this." Mrs. Lovett started to talk faster and faster and looked everywhere except at the barber. "God, I wished that Peter hadn't done this. He has ruined… even if I'd want to, I'm not sure that my body will ever be able to…"

"Nellie!" the barber said sharply, bewildered because she was upset again and he had no idea why. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I was thinking… you've been alone for a very long time. I know that you love Lucy very much, but I could imagine that if you felt lonely that you might want… someone. I would've been there for you, I really would. But I feel horrible now and I don't think it'll ever get better. I don't think I can please you, Mr. T."

Sweeney Todd couldn't believe what he was hearing. She had been through so much and she talked about herself like this? Had she really been willing to sleep with him just in case he felt lonely? He had felt attracted to his landlady, but doing something like _that_…

"I wouldn't have wanted _somebody_," he answered, sounding harsher than he intended. "I want no one except for my wife."

She lowered her head and he cursed himself for upsetting her again. The entire situation was horribly confusing. He took a deep breath, trying to get at least some insight in his own feelings, but he failed miserably.

"I don't want things to be like that," he said after a long silence, choosing his words carefully. "When I said that I cared deeply for you, I didn't mean it in the way you think I did. I simply meant that I felt that we could share our grief. Just as friends, not in such a way as you suggested. It might be good for both of us and I…"

He was looking for words desperately but he couldn't find the right ones to say, probably because he didn't even knew himself what he felt.

"What I'm trying to say is," he said, taking in as much air as he could, "that we both need comfort; were both alone in this cruel world. All we have is each other and though things are very different than we would want them to be, we should make the best of things. You lost so much because of what Peter Turpin did, I lost everything I had because of his brother. We have this in common and maybe we could benefit from each other's company. We could try it."

"I won't sleep with you," was all she said when she hid beneath the covers again. "I would've done so gladly, but not anymore. I don't want anybody to touch me, not even you."

"I didn't mean it like _that_," he said, wondering why he suddenly felt so desperate. "I just…"

Sweeney was truly unsure of his own thoughts and feelings and actually talking to someone instead of grunting a few words turned out to be harder than he expected too.

The barber wanted to help his landlady; he didn't want her to be afraid for the rest of her life for the world in general and men in particular. He couldn't allow that the Turpins destroyed another woman's life. Maybe he cared for the baker because she had been through almost the same as his Lucy, but he felt sincere concern for Mrs. Lovett. When he remembered the 'incident' in the basement, he realized there might be more than just 'caring', but he couldn't let her know – he shouldn't feel something like that for her in the first place.

Suddenly he craved for real contact with another human being; not with Lucy, not with a random person, but with Nellie Lovett. But he would scare both himself and her with that desire, so he suppressed it the best he could. He desperately wanted to help her, not make her feel worse.

"Just think about it," he said. "Your support meant a lot for me, even though I never gave you credit for it. I might be able to do the same for you."

Without saying one more word, he left the room, leaving Mrs. Lovett in a turmoil of thoughts and emotions.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

During the day they could both think of only one thing: Sweeney Todd's offer to find comfort in each other's company. Mrs. Lovett wondered if she could ever trust the barber and if she dared to be even more vulnerable than she already was around him. Sometimes she feared the demon barber; not because of his bloodlust and hate for the world, but because he had proven in her bedroom the previous day that he desired her in a way she was sure that she never could give herself to a man again.

Mrs. Lovett would've trusted Benjamin Barker, but this man wasn't him anymore. The naive barber would never act as Sweeney Todd had done when he thought she was sleeping. But he was right; she would end up as a living corpse if she'd continue her 'life' like this. Although it was the best thing to do, she couldn't make that step back towards the real world. At least, on her own; she needed help and the barber was the only one who was willing togive it.

Of course Toby would want to do the same, but she needed support from someone who could really understand her and Sweeney was the only one who did.

She didn't want his love like she used to do. If he was a demon for his customers, how on earth would he be for the only woman he let in his life?

She tossed and turned for hours, staring at the ceiling every time she managed to remain lying still for a few seconds. Only the sound of a human body going through the chute and crashing down on the basement floor every once and a while told her that the world and time hadn't stopped along with her life.

Outside her room, life continued and Mrs. Lovett wondered if people were worried about her, if they hoped she'd come back to her shop, or remembered her at all. Life was hard after all and it wasn't unusual that people just disappeared for numerous of reasons. Her thoughts drifted to her shop too and she wondered how Toby could handle running it without her.

She almost started to wish she could just continue her old life, pretending that nothing had happened, but she didn't dare to and she felt so weak from lying in bed almost non-stop for a week.

While she considered all these things, she decided that she'd try it again. She was a fighter after all, a survivor; not a silly little nit like Lucy Barker, who tried to kill herself after what had happened. Lucy's case had been a bit worse than her own, Nellie Lovett had to admit, but the thought she could handle something Lucy could not, gave her faith. And trying to return to her old life would give her a chance to get to know the man who had offered to help her.

Mrs. Lovett pushed Peter Turpin out of her mind and instead she focused on the present, awaiting the moment Sweeney Todd would return almost eagerly.

The barber himself wasn't so sure about his proposition anymore. He had survived without any affection for so long, why give that up now when he was so close to accomplishing his mission? Why care for Mrs. Lovett, if he was still a married to his Lucy, the only love in his life?

During his working day, Mr. Todd considered these questions most of the time. He didn't think about vengeance all the time and he cut throats automatically. Everything about Mrs. Lovett dominated his thoughts, from her gentle voice and huge eyes to her body which he had seen accidentally only days ago. Especially when he thought of the latter, all his other thoughts faded and his body began to shake, whether he wanted this to happen or not.

Suddenly the man in the barber chair made an extremely disgusting sound; only then Sweeney Todd noticed that he had placed a razor only half in his customer's throat.

One stab later everything was quiet again, but the barber cursed himself for his own weakness and lack of concentration.

It became more and more clear that no matter how long he had cherished the memories of Lucy in the heat of Devil's Island, they faded quickly now he was back in London where he was confronted with Mrs. Lovett's warmth. Now the baker was the one he cared for, she was now the central person in his life and in his heart.

He could do something good if he helped her, or at least tried to help. He might be able to make a different and do something back to the woman who had helped him selflessly for months.

He was afraid that the baker would replace his own wife even faster if he would spend more time with her, but Lucy had always said that she wanted the best for him; so that meant that he could help Mrs. Lovett if that made him feel better, right?

When the last customers had 'left' the shop, the barber cleaned the room. At first it had taken him a very long time to remove all the blood properly, but now that he had done that so many times a day himself, he was getting used to handling it quickly. Not as fast as Mrs. Lovett of course, but he was managing. Yet, this didn't mean that he didn't miss Mrs. Lovett. He started to miss her being around, although he had never thought about it before and he would certainly never had admit it, he _did_ feel better when she was trying to look after him.

Sweeney Todd had made up his mind: he'd do what he could to help her, and himself.

That evening he didn't only take some pieces of bread with him when he visited her, but clean clothes as well. To his surprise, the curtains in her room were partly opened so at least it wasn't so dark in the room. She wasn't asleep, but she was sitting up in the bed, watching him.

"Have you decided yet?" he asked while he placed the tray with food on the night stand next to her bed.

"I have," she replied. "I want to go back to the point where I was before this mess. Your help would be very welcome, Mr. Todd. If you are still willing to…"

"I am," he said, not entirely sure of it anymore now he was so damn close to her again – but he'd certainly try.

Mrs. Lovett felt uncomfortable during the silence that fell and just to have something to do, she started to eat the food that the barber had brought her, even though she wasn't really hungry. This time, Sweeney stayed in the room instead of leaving immediately after he had asked her how she was doing, like he usually did. He was watching her and although he tried not to do this too intensely, she could feel his eyes on her. Suddenly the food tasted even less good than it already did.

"Lesson one," the barber suddenly said. "You can just eat when a man is watching you."

Reluctantly, she continued her meal, feeling nervous because he was watching all her movements. But after a few minutes she found out that Sweeney Todd was right. She calmed down and after she had eaten a slice of bread, she felt better than before. Maybe this would get easier than she had expected it to be.

The barber's presence was helpful too. He had not always been a constant factor in her life, but he had always been in her mind. However, never more than that, since he was either spending all his time with his wife and daughter, being locked up at the other side of the world or pacing in the room above hers. But now he was there with her, not brooding like usual, but actually _being_ there. This was enough for her to make her blush lightly.

"How are things going in the shop?"

She wasn't really interested, but she needed to say something to prevent him from paying attention to her reddened face.

"Toby is running all day long to sell the pies."

"And who bakes them?" she asked, suspicious now. "You haven't 'hired' another baker, have you?"

"No, I haven't," he replied. "I bake them myself. You gave me the recipe, remember?"

"Yes, I did, but I had never thought that you would actually…"

The image of Sweeney Todd baking pies was somehow very funny. He realized it too and he didn't feel good about it, but when she smiled slightly, he decided that it was worth it.

"I thought it was more a suggestion to get me back to work. Because I understand that I'm not of much use to you now I'm…"

"Hush," he said, more gentle than he thought he was capable of, "I couldn't send you back to work after what had happened? You need to rest."

He stared off into the distance, his thoughts had obviously gone to another time and place.

"Who knows how different it could've been if I had been there to look after Lucy when…"

"So _that's _what's it about," she asked, her voice trembling again. She had presumed Lucy had something to do with it, but to hear him admit it that it wasn't really about the baker, but more about his own guilt for not being there when his wife had needed him so much, still hurt.

The barber looked at her, choosing his words carefully.

"That's what it's about," he answered, trying not to upset her more. "Among others. I want to give you the chance that Lucy didn't have and because you deserve all the help you can get after what has happened."

She nodded, showing him that she accepted this reply.

"I tell myself that it is stupid to be like this, that I should get over with it, especially now that he's dead, but I just can't. I can't forget about how he touched me, the words he said to me… I'm so afraid someone like him will return whenever I leave this room. When I wake up after I had dreamed about him again and I light a candle, I'm even afraid of my own _shadow_ and…"

"It'll pass," Sweeney answered, trying to sound reassuring. "I'll be here to watch over you and I promise I'll never do again anything like…"

He thought back of the warmth of Mrs. Lovett's body, how natural it somehow felt to touch her and that he secretly wanted to do that again, but he knew he had to suppress those feelings and that he _certainly_ shouldn't inform his landlady of them.

"It's alright," she said. "Apparently, that's just the way men are. At least you regret what you did."

Once more he wanted to tell her that he didn't really regret the action, only the fact that she had found out, but that was the worst thing to do right now.

She should get ready for the life she once had led, not for more pain and fear.

"I'll watch over you," he promised her.

She nodded; for the moment, this statement was enough for her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"And how is Toby?" Mrs. Lovett asked Sweeney when he paid her a visit the next day.

"I hardly see him," the barber answered, "but he looks very tired. He works all day in the shop and in the evening he cleans all the furniture. He's extremely worried about you, but I think he doesn't want to visit you because he doesn't know how to behave around you. But I could send him to you tomorrow, if you'd like that?"

"Thanks for the offer," she muttered, "but I don't want him to see me like this. I want to be like I was until a week ago, but…"

"I'll help you," he said, nodding reassuringly. "Or at least, I'll do my very best."

She nodded too, once again feeling grateful for his support.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," he replied.

"Why are you so friendly to me since Peter…"

"Well, it wouldn't really be good for your recovery process if I snarled and yelled at you the whole time, wouldn't it?"

"So you only _act_ like this… it isn't real?"

"Everyone acts, Mrs. Lovett," he said sarcastically, but still, friendlier than usual. "But it isn't as hard for me as you might think. I…"

He stared at her, as if he wasn't sure of what he should say next.

"It's easier for me to be friendlier when you…"

He abruptly stopped speaking and his face returned to its familiar blank expression after of shock had flashed over it for a brief moment.

Mrs. Lovett experienced a sudden feeling of happiness in her belly, for she understood what the barber had almost said. Although he hadn't finished his sentence, it really looked that he had wanted to say that he felt better when she was around.

This news would've made her very happy a while ago and until very recently it might've scared her, but now she didn't know what to think of it anymore.

"Time to dress," Sweeney said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Dress?" she asked.

Maybe it was because of all the emotions that run through her, but she didn't see how dressing fitted into the process of getting back to her old life.

"You can't wear that nightgown forever," he replied, handing her the dress that he was still holding.

Mrs. Lovett looked at the dress and corset, as if she had last worn them in another lifetime, but then she took it from him and, nodding silently, she waited until he had left the room. She locked the door behind him, only then taking off her nightgown reluctantly.

She tried to put on the corset, but her arms were weak, her entire body was, after lying in bed for such a long time and she wasn't able of pulling the strings of her corset tight enough.

She sighed, panicking, for she realized there was only one person who could help her with this. This certain person was the demon barber, who was waiting for her just outside her room.

She didn't wear the dress yet, so most of her body was still exposed and she didn't dare to face Sweeney like this; she hadn't forgotten the look in his eyes the day before. So she wrapped a blanket around her body and then she opened the door, just enough for him to enter.

He eyed her briefly, causing her cheeks to redden in embarrassment.

"What's the problem?" he asked her.

"My corset… could you please?"

He nodded and she sat down next to her bedside, so he could tie the laces. However, that wasn't as easy as he had originally thought.

"Nellie," the barber said. "I can't tie it when that blanket is in front of it."

"But…I'm not wearing anything bene…"

"I just have to shove the blanket down a little bit, I'm not going to…"

"But…"

"I'm not _him_," he said, impatiently and a bit angrily.

Before she could stop him, he stripped down the blanket, exposing her entire lower back.

"Mr. Todd," she cried, "I…"

"Don't worry," he grunted, a little bit annoyed now. "I won't do anything except for tying this thing!"

She felt extremely uncomfortable, but to her surprise, he kept his word without even touching her skin once.

When the corset was tied, Sweeney left the room and only returned when she was fully dressed and gave him permission to enter the room again.

"See?" he said, "Two steps at once. Getting dressed again and trusting me."

She didn't really hear him, for she was too focused on the dress that she was wearing now. She had never noticed before that the clothes she always wore, hardly covered her body at all.

"It's normal," Sweeney said, sensing her discomfort. "All women are dressed like this, and no man will think differently of you unless you do behave like you're wearing nothing at all."

"I'm just thinking… if I would've worn something decent then perhaps he wouldn't have…"

"Nellie… knowing the Turpins, Peter had planned this all long ago and it didn't matter what you were wearing that night. Now, I think it's time you help me baking those pies. It's quite hard to do that all by myself."

She nodded and followed him to the bake house. The stench hit her at first now that she wasn't used to all those corpses anymore, but by the time they had descended the stairs, it was like she had never been away.

She walked towards the counter and started kneading the dough, as if she had done so all week. She didn't notice the approving gaze of the barber and she even forget the entire situation when she hit the dough with the rolling-pin.

Sweeny chopped the meat and she did the rest. To her surprise, their cooperation was very enjoyable. The work kept her mind away from the depressing thoughts that had been going through her for a week and she almost regretted it when all the bodies were baked into pies a few hours later.

"So, that was it," Sweeney said. "Not that bad, right?"

"No, not at all," she answered truthfully. "I'm very glad that you persuaded me, Mr. Todd."

"No problem," he said, a bit confused, for he had almost said it was 'a pleasure'. It would have been very improper, both because of her situation and because he actually meant it.

"Just try to sleep today and I'll come back tomorrow evening."

"I'll do so, and I'll be ready tomorrow."

He nodded and walked back to the stairs.

"Mr. Todd!" Nellie said before he was gone. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome. I'm glad I can help you."

It was to both a surprise to hear the sincerity in his voice.

She lingered a few moments longer in the basement, enjoying the fact both she and Sweeney seemed to have enjoyed the evening.

She didn't know exactly why he supported her the way he did, but she couldn't really care about it. She went back to her bedroom and changed the dress she was wearing for the nightgown again.

The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell in a comfortable sleep which wasn't interrupted by nightmares this time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The entire next day, the demon barber was looking forward to the upcoming meeting with Mrs. Lovett. It was very strange, but he did feel better and more at ease when he was near her. Besides, he fought some of the cruelty in the world by supporting her and it was a relief to interact with a person again.

That horribly scared look that was still in her eyes made clear that he shouldn't touch her, not even in moments of extreme loneliness that he experienced every once in a while, but at the same time her fear made it easier for him to remain faithful to Lucy like he had promised to do.

The day couldn't pass soon enough and while he killed the customers, the barber's thoughts drifted from Lucy to his landlady quite often.

When the working day was finally over and he went to Mrs. Lovett's room, he found that she had opened the curtains and she was dressed already. She was sitting on her bed, reading a book.

"Mr. Todd", she said happily when she saw him. "I'm glad you're here."

"So am I," he said, to his own surprise; her cheerfulness was infectious.

"It's good to see you're feeling better."

"It really helped that you took me to the bake house last night. I really feel better now."

"Let's go again then, shall we?"

He offered her a hand so it was easier for her to step from the bed and she took it thankfully.

Her hand wasn't cold anymore, but nicely warm like it had been once. She was really recovering from the damage Peter Turpin had inflicted on her.

"Did the Judge visit your shop already?" she asked while they descended the stairs again.

"No," Sweeney said, feeling awful because of it, but not wanting to confront Mrs. Lovett with his frustrations this time. "But he will. Soon."

"Good," she said. "Did you have a lot of work to do today?"

"I killed everyone today since I noticed you enjoy baking a lot of pies, so..."

It surprised him a bit, now that he thought about it, but it was true. Sometimes, once or twice a day, he would let a man live, even if he wasn't accompanied by his family. Some of his customers looked really innocent and kind and usually he just finished their shaves without cutting their throats. But he hadn't done so today; for some reason, he wanted to let the baking process take as long as possible, so he could be working with his landlady for a longer time.

The idea of having to work with even more dead bodies didn't upset Mrs. Lovett. On the contrary, she was secretly glad because this way, she could spend more time with the suddenly so friendly barber.

Mrs. Lovett couldn't worry about awful memories when she was baking during this night which was just as enjoyable as the previous one, especially when Sweeney cast a shy glance at her every once and a while.

"Toby asked for you today," Sweeney said.

"He's a good boy," she replied, smiling lightly.

"He wants to see you again and he asked when you'd come back to the pie shop. I told him that you'll return tomorrow."

She stopped her work for a moment and looked at him in shock.

"But I don't _want_ to return to the shop," she said. "All those men…I never cared when they looked at me in that horrible way most of them do, but now I don' think I can ever stand again to…"

"It'll be alright," he said, trying to reassure her. "I'll be there."

"No, you won't," she said powerfully. "You'll be in your shop, killing all those men…"

"Before they have the chance to hurt you."

She picked up her rolling pin again and hit the dough, shaking her head while doing so.

"But still, I…"

"Don't worry," he said, walking back to the meat grinder. "Perhaps you can try to look after Toby again first. I'm sure it'll be easier for you if you take one step at a time."

In an impulse, he placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She jumped at the touch and for a second he thought it was because the blood that was still on his hand, but when she kept trembling, he understood why she was so scared.

"Mr. Todd!" she cried. "Please don't do that; you scare me!"

"I'm sorry," he muttered, defeated, "I shouldn't have… I'm so sorry for the blood on…"

He took a clean rag from the table and wiped the blood off her shoulder.

She didn't stop trembling when he gently touched her and fear was written in her eyes.

"Nellie, you don't have to be afraid," he said, trying to calm her down.

"I know, but I just _can't help_ it!"

"We have to think of a way to get that better, otherwise you'll have this problem the rest of your life."

"No. There's nothing you can do about it," she said firmly. "It's very nice of you to help me the way you do, but there are limits to what you can achieve."

He didn't really hear the last part of her comment: he was thinking of what he had said himself. He had promised that he really wanted to help her and that meant getting used to physical contact again too. However, he wasn't sure he was really willing to do that. He couldn't deny that he felt attracted to the baker, but he couldn't take the risk of developing deeper feelings for her.

"Mr. Todd?" she asked, clearly unaware of the struggle in his head. "What are you thinking about?"

Sweeney stared at the woman in front of him, wondering if it was _really_ that bad to take that 'risk': there were many good things that could happen if he dared to help the woman who had been so good to him all this time.

"I was thinking about you," he replied, after a few seconds in which he made up his mind. "I'll come back next evening. We won't bake pies then, at least not in the beginning of the evening, but there's something else we have do first."

She looked at him, but he avoided her gaze, knowing what he had to do if he actually wanted to help his landlady.

It would be hard for both of them, but Mrs. Lovett needed to learn to enjoy physical contact again and he had to admit that the baker wasn't the only one who should learn this. After the fifteen years he had spent in banishment on Devil's Island where it was a sign of weakness to show an emotion even for even the shortest moment, the demon barber had become dead inside to prevent himself from getting hurt even more.

But now he was back in London and although that place wasn't much better than Devil's Island in many ways, he wasn't beaten there or laughed at every time he shed tears or twisted his face in pain. He didn't have to hide his emotions anymore all the time and because he didn't have to be on his guard anymore twenty-four hours a day, Mr. Todd slowly started to realize again what it was like to actually _live_ instead of trying to survive another day. But he had forgotten how to enjoy the small things that could make life enjoyable and especially things like love seemed to be taken from his life along with Lucy.

He wanted to experience those feelings again, as if it was easier that way to go on with his life, hoping that he could get rid of the horrible memories of Devil's Island that way.

There was only one way to achieve that. Intuitively he felt that helping Mrs. Lovett would not be only good for his landlady, but for himself too.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The entire next day, all Mrs. Lovett did was think of what Sweeney Todd had said and, most of all, what he meant with that.

She paced through her room, where she somehow didn't feel at ease anymore. It was as if the walls were coming closer to her, like a cage, and she couldn't stand the darkness of the bedroom anymore.

So she dressed and after a long moment of hesitation, she left the room in which she had spent almost all her time lately.

The baker walked slowly to her living room, while one of her hands was against the wall for support. The room was exactly as she remembered it and when she sat down in her favorite chair, her body and mind slowly relaxed. Although it doubtlessly was very busy in the pie shop, she didn't notice this in the living room and for a while, she just enjoyed the quietness. Toby would probably only come at the end of the day, when the shop was finally closed and all the furniture was clean again.

The thought of the young boy who was so worried about her according to Mr. Todd, brightened her. He deserved something nice now that he had run the shop almost all by himself for so long.

Mrs. Lovett hurried to the bake house where she took some ingredients from a cupboard and returned to her kitchen to bake a big cake for her adoptive son.

She felt at ease in the safeness of her own home and she was looking forward to seeing both Toby and Mr. Todd again. It was miraculous how much better and stronger she felt just because she was out of her bedroom for a while.

The baker sang softly while she worked and when the cake was finished, she took a broom from the closet and cleaned the floor of the kitchen and the living room. It felt really good to be at work again and do all the things she used to do.

However, her mind drifted to Sweeney's proposal. Had he really suggested what she thought he had said? And if he had done so, didn't he know how difficult that would be and that he would probably fail anyway?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Toby entered the parlor. She hadn't expected him yet, but a look at the clock on the wall told her that it was evening already.

"Mum!" the young boy yelled excitedly, "you're back!"

He ran toward her and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're back!"

She closed her eyes while she held the boy, feeling so much gratitude to have him at her side.

"So you are better?" he asked when she finally let him go.

"Almost," she replied. "Almost."

"I'm so happy Mum. I really missed you, but I looked after the shop for you."

She listened to how he talked on and on about the pie shop, enjoying his enthusiasm and innocence. When he had finished speaking, she showed him the cake she had baked for him, smiling when his eyes grew wide because of the sudden surprise.

"Thank you so much Mum," he said, when she gestured that he could eat as much as he liked.

The cake was too big for him to eat all by himself, so he handed her a piece too and together they ate in a happy silence. The baker enjoyed the little party immensely and when Sweeney entered the room, she only felt better. The barber accepted a piece of the cake too and sat down on the couch, not looking as if he wanted to interrupt the reunion between the baker and her adoptive son.

Although the things Peter Turpin had done to her never really left her mind entirely, Mrs. Lovett felt truly happy at that moment. Next to her were a man and a boy who she loved and who loved her in their own way.

After they had eaten the cake, she chatted a little longer with Toby about the shop. When the boy yawned several times, she told him to go to sleep and he lay down on the couch that Sweeney had just stood up from.

The baker began to wash the dishes and to her surprise the barber helped her with this.

When he was sure that Toby was asleep, he spoke to her for the first time that day.

"Do you remember what I said last night?"

"Yes," she replied, remembering it _very_ well. "But I…"

"Come on Nellie, I'm just trying to… you have to get used again to being touched. You don't want to be scared for the rest of your life if somebody touches you, even when it's just a little accident, right?"

Mrs. Lovett didn't know if she should nod or shake her head; instead she watched the barber with huge eyes, pleading him to leave her alone. But he didn't, just as his temper and aggression had never prevented her from looking after him in the past.

"You don't want to be lonely for the rest of your days," he added quietly.

"I'm _not_ lonely," she stated, more firm than she actually felt. "I have Toby and…"

"You know what I mean," he said, not giving her the chance to finish her sentence. "I'm not talking about a child, but a man. Someone to hold you, someone support you, someone to kiss you, and more. You have to try to find someone like that."

"I have tried," she answered. "I have tried for so many years. But there's only one person I truly care about. And I'm talking to him right now."

"Nellie, you don't understand me. I'm not talking about a friend, but about a husband – a lover."

"If you think that, _you _are the one who doesn't understand."

They stared at each other for a few seconds; only then Mrs. Lovett realized what she had said. It wasn't a lie, or at least it didn't feel like one at that moment, but she wished she could take the words back. What would the barber think? Or worse, what would he _do?_

Before he could blame her, or hurt her, or hate her now that she had indirectly told him that she was in love with him, she ran out of the living room, leaving Sweeney there speechless.

The barber remained standing there, as if he was rooted on that spot, unable to believe what she had said. She had confessed that she had _been _in love with him, but this was completely new.

He didn't know what to think of it. It shouldn't matter that she loved him, because he was supposed to ignore any sign of affection from her anyway since he was a married man, but he had to consider it now, especially because he had promised that he'd help her. And if she cared as much about him as she just had said, it should be easier to get rid of her fear for human contact.

He walked towards her bedroom and entered without knocking. She was lying in bed, fully clothed, and she stared him like she hadn't expected him to come.

"Look, Nellie," he said." I can imagine that this is horrible for you to go through, but this is the only way. If you let me help you, you'll benefit from it, even though you can't or don't want to see that now."

She stared at him, not knowing what to say and not sure what to think herself. She didn't even know what the barber actually meant with 'helping' her, but she presumed it was best not to know; for if she did, she would probably stop him before he had even had the chance to _try_ to help her. She knew that it would be hard to win back the courage that had seemed so normal to her once, but this was the right and perhaps the only moment to make a serious attempt to get her life back.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Now that the memories of Peter Turpin and what he had done to her faded slowly, the longing Mrs. Lovett once had felt for Mr. Todd increased again. However, his proposition to help her getting used to intimate contact againstill seemed threatening to her. She was aware after all of the fact that he hadn't been with a woman for more than fifteen yearsand that things might escalate if she allowed him to do whatever he had in mind. A few weeks ago she would have given everything to experience that, but now that she had actually lost so much, the thought scared her.

But now he was here, standing in her room, and it was too late now to change her mind. To give herself something to do, she closed the curtains so at least no one would be watching them and even more rumors would spread.

The darkness was chased away a short moment later, when Sweeney lighted a few candles and placed them on her nightstand. The baker stared at the flickering flames as if she was hypnotized by them.

"Perhaps they'll make you feel more at ease," he said, but she didn't really hear him.

"How do you suppose this is going to work?" she asked, less sure of the initial plan (or lack of it) with every second that passed.

Intuitively the baker stood as far from the man away as possible and inwardly they both sighed at the realization how hard this was and how awkward this probably would become. Mrs. Lovett was about to tell Mr. Todd that she really didn't want to do this, but then she realized once more that it was the only real chance she had to become the woman again who she used to be.

The barber probably didn't do it on purpose, but the way he just stood there in her room, looking so confused and uncertain himself, made Mrs. Lovett's heart melt. The sight was so familiar that it made it easier for her to feel like her old, caring self again.

"Now, Mr. T," she said, pitying him as she realized that this meant very much for him too, since he had basically given her permission the previous day to do something that only Lucy had been privileged to do this far. "Come here."

From that moment on, she felt that it was alright and that Mr. Todd certainly wouldn't be the one who lost his mind and would cross undefined boundaries.

Slowly he walked towards her and as he was standing right in front of her, he allowed her to guide him towards her bed. They both sat down on it and as she felt the barber's restlessness that was even worse than her own, she gently placed a hand on his tense shoulder and guided his body down on the bed.

As his head was resting in her lap, she carefully massaged his temples, forgetting her own worries as she witnessed how the barber slowly but surely seemed to relax. He closed his eyes and Mrs. Lovett realized that this was the only time that the barber had allowed her to take care of him like this and that was this the first time that she actually saw the tension disappearing from his body.

The muscles in his face relaxed and when she softly caressed his hair, even the snarl, which seemed to be stuck on his otherwise still handsome face, seemed to disappear.

She stroked his shoulders now and when the barber leaned into her touch, all the memories of Peter Turpin were replaced by the sensations which she was feeling now. When the barber reached for her arm and rested his hand on it, her heart beat faster, but not because of fear this time.

Mrs. Lovett wanted to ask him again what he had in mind since he hadn't answered when she asked before, but at that moment she felt the urge not to say anything at all and just enjoy what was going on now that Mr. Todd seemed to be relaxing at last.

The baker tenderly moved her fingers from the barber's shoulders to his cheek and forehead, almost unable to believe that she was finally doing what she had wanted to do for such a long time. She realized that Mr. Todd was already helping her, just by lying there against her; his for once not intimidating form made her really relax too for the first time since Judge Turpin's brother had attempted to rape her.

As she was caressing Sweeney's face and noticed how much he enjoyed her attention, she grew more confident and carefully moved her fingers from his cheeks to his mouth.

The moment she touched his lips, the barber couldn't suppress the groan he had been determined to hold back for minutes.

"Nellie," he said, his eyes still closed, "I…"

"What's wrong?" she asked, feeling insecure again. "Should I stop?"

"No… _yes._"

Reluctantly she removed her hand from his face, not wanting to stop enjoying the tender gesture.

"No," he mumbled, almost inaudible. "Don't go away."

"I won't," she replied, just as softly, "if you tell me what's wrong."

She feared that this was not a very clever thing to say because she made it really easy for Mr. Todd to push her away once more this way, but to her surprise, she saw that he was actually looking for the right words to answer.

"When I proposed to... help you, I expected that the only way to make this work for me was by closing my eyes and pretending you were Lucy. But now... It's so much easier than I thought. I don't _want_ it to stop."

"It doesn't have to," Mrs. Lovett whispered.

As the demon barber was lying so close to her, muttering those words to her, something inside of the woman awakened again. A feeling that she had thought to be gone since Peter Turpin had almost had his way with her, was resurrected by Mr. Todd's words.

"We can only make the best of things, can't we?" she added. "You said it yourself to me, remember?"

"I have to admit," Sweeney said after a silence of a few seconds, "that I only said that to try to cheer you up. I didn't _mean_ them. Because, when you really think about it... how can things get better? Every time we think we have something beautiful, when we are happy, the persons that make us feel happy are taken away from us."

"It isn't always that bad," Mrs. Lovett muttered. Part of her realized that Sweeney was supposed to make _her_ feel better, not the other way around, but the efforts to makethe man feel better were still so familiar, that they almost automatically brought her some of the self-assuredness back that she once had had. "It's certainly true that a lot is taken from us during our life, but does that mean that we have to give up, that we just stop even _trying_ to be happy?"

Mr. Todd sat up abruptly and the woman feared that she had said something very wrong, but all he did was reachfor her. His hand caressed her arm gently and she felt so much at ease by the tender gesture, that she didn't even consider pulling the limb out of his reach.

As she didn't reject his touch, Sweeney moved his other hand to cup her face. When the baker once more didn't try to avoid him, he stroked her cheeks and moved his thumb to her lower lip. As she still didn't pull back or showed any sign of fear, the barber realized that as if he wanted to help her after all, he had to do it _now_.

Encouraged by her neutral reaction this far and the fastening beat of his own heart, Mr. Todd moved closer to his landlady and kissed her lips softly.

For a moment, the woman was dumbfounded. It was awkward to feel his lips against hers. But his were cool and soft, unlike Peter Turpin's, and she found herself responding to his kiss. Almost shyly, her lips brushed against Sweeney's and just as insecurely, as if he didn't really know he wanted this himself, he pulled her closer to him.

The reluctance faded as she experienced the gentleness of his touch. Her Mr. Todd's touch; Benjamin's touch. It was just as tender and gentle as she had always imagined. Her body relaxed and she could think of nothing but the man who was so near her right now. A very pleasant kind of adrenaline rushed through her body, but she felt that it wasn't enough yet. A primal instinct told her that she needed more of him and in order to get this, she parted her lips to invite him to invade her mouth.

When she felt his tongue against her own a few seconds later, it was like time itself stopped. All there was, all there would ever be, was him, and him only. It was unclear to her whether he was kissing her because he wanted to forget about Lucy like this for a while, or because he wanted to help her but nothing more, or because he actually cared for her. But at that moment she didn't care; the only thing she wanted was the kiss to last as long as possible.

Seconds turned into a minute and yet, he didn't let go, except to take a short breath of air a few times. She clung to his shoulders and his hands were caressing her hips through the fabric of her dress, but it didn't scare her anymore. It only made her long for more, just like he had wanted to let her feel again.

When they finally let go, it felt to Mrs. Lovett as if everything that once had happened before had taken place in another lifetime, like it had nothing to do with her anymore. The only thing that was still real, was the situation she found herself in at that very moment: in the arms of the man she loved.

However, as the two stared at each other, she read doubt in the barber's eyes and that ruined the aftermath for Mrs. Lovett completely. She could tell that he was thinking of Lucy and right now, he probably hated himself because he had touched another woman.

"Nellie," he said after a few more seconds of silence, "I…"

"I know what you're going to say," she interrupted him. "If you really must, then please do it in such a way that I can't hear it. I don't want this moment to be ruined; I want to remember for the rest of my life how happy I am right now."

"Happy?" Sweeney repeated sheepishly.

"Yes," she sighed. "Those were the first few seconds since you-know-what happened that I didn't think of _him_ and what he did at all. I know you don't want me because of Lucy."

She stood up from the bed and walked away from him and the bubble of bliss they had just been in, not wanting to hear the rejecting words he was doubtlessly going to say.

Even though her fear seemed to be gone now, she realized this was far from over yet.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sweeney stared with regret at the baker, who was walking away from him quickly. He didn't know exactly what had just happened. He refused to fully believe that they had actually kissed, but he couldn't deny that, whatever they had shared, was special. Instead of what he had expected, the woman didn't make him feel disgusted with himself; she had made him feel calm and loved, as if there was still some humanity left in his being.

But now, she was leaving him, and for once, he absolutely didn't want her to.

"Nellie," he said to her, "don't go away. Let me..."

But she didn't listen; instead, she reached for the doorknob. If he didn't do anything, she would be gone within a few seconds and intuitively he felt that the moment she left the room, he would never experience again the unfamiliar feeling that he had felt when they had kissed. He wasn't sure yet if it was a good thing or not what she had done to him, but he was desperate to find out.

Without thinking about it twice, Sweeney got up from the bed and blocked her way out, placing himself between the door and the body of his landlady.

She looked up at him with those extremely expressive eyes. They were still clouded with love and hope; and the sight of that alone was enough to make him lose control again. He was awfully aware of the fact that the situation between them would become _very_ awkward and possibly even more problematic if he didn't stop himself, but Mr. Todd simply couldn't resist taking again what she had given him before.

Part of him was still debating what to do or what not to do, but before he could come to a decision his primal instincts took over. Before realizing fully what he was doing, he threw her against the wall and kissed her once more. Not softly and carefully like he just had done, but roughly and hungrily.

Even as this was happening _this _way he tried to stop himself, not because he didn't _want _this to happen but because he didn't want to scare Mrs. Lovett. But once more, he found himself incapable of getting away from her.

The baker was caught off guard completely by the totally unexpected behavior of Mr. Todd. Her initial reaction was to push him away from her, but her body seemed to have a will of its own now. She found himself responding to his kiss eagerly and before his mind had even registered this fact, her hands found their way underneath his shirt on their own accord. All the fear disappeared, along with her rationality, and was replaced by the unstoppable urge to be with Mr. Todd in a way she had dreamed of for so long at last.

The barber himself didn't object at that very moment; he seemed to be too focused on the woman now to understand what he was actually doing. This time, Mrs. Lovett didn't mind this at all and instead of thinking what she should do next to make sure that Sweeney wouldn't come to his senses and leave her, she gave in to the urge to unbutton his shirt and kiss every inch of skin that she revealed that way.

As the barber didn't attempt to stop her and continued kissing her, it was clear that she wasn't the only one of them who was overwhelmed by the sudden passion. Feeling more confident because of this, she dared to brush the now unbuttoned shirt off Mr. Todd's shoulders and ran her fingers over his chest, exploring the skin that she had craved to feel for such a long time.

A reluctant moan escaped from the barber's throat, making it clear to her that for him too kissing was not enough anymore. Although he was still pushing her against the wall, he tried to move his landlady's dress out of the way of his eager hands.

While making sure they didn't break the kiss, Mrs. Lovett tugged together with him at the laces of her dress. As the things just wouldn't come lose and neither of them seemed to posses the ability to remain standing any longer, the two of them managed to make their way towards the bed. A little while later they collapsed on it, falling on the sheets as one piece of entwined limbs and messy hair.

They were both completely lost in the moment and because of the almost spontaneous passion they experienced, neither of them was aware of the boundaries that they were crossing. Only when the laces of his landlady's clothes refused to cooperate with his desperate fingers and Mr. Todd hiked up the woman's skirts, the barber realized what was about to happen.

In spite of the heat inside of him, the barber froze at the spot as he realized at last that he was taking advantage of Mrs. Lovett in the most horrible way. This way he wasn't helping her, only traumatizing and scaring her more.

Mrs. Lovett immediately noticed the change within him and with difficulty, they broke their kiss. Since they didn't manage to move away from each other, they remained lying on top of each other, both breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

His eyes were closed and although he tried not to, he was still aware of the fact how much he enjoyed the feeling of her skin, her hair... everything that was her.

"_This_ is wrong," he said. "All I wanted to do was make you unafraid of men, and what do I do? I treat you exactly the same as all _them_."

"No, you didn't," Mrs. Lovett whispered. "You didn't hurt me. It's not wrong, Mr. Todd."

"It _is_," he insisted. "I couldn't control myself, just like them. And besides, I shouldn't have touched you in the first place."

"It's because of Lucy, isn't it?" the baker asked for the second time that day, hoping to get an actual answer now.

"Yes," he said through clenched teeth, "or... no."

The barber just stared at her without giving an answer and Mrs. Lovett feared that she had angered him, that he hated her because he had kissed her and that he had liked it – the woman had felt that Mr. Todd enjoyed himself just as much as she had done. Even now he was still lying on top of her, he quivered every time a bit of skin or a tress of her hair accidentally brushed his body.

They remained silent for a while as they just stared into each others eyes and Mrs. Lovett wondered if one of them would find the courage to speak before the day was over, since both of them seemed to be embarrassed to say anything.

However, words weren't the things that broke the silence. The feeling of something wet on her skin brought her back from the trance-like state she was in. It took a few more little pools of salty water on her heated skin before she realized that Mr. Todd was crying.

Her eyes widened in shock as the demon barber finally surrendered himself to his grief. But she recovered immediately and quickly she wrapped her arms around the man. She pulled him closer to her again, so he could perhaps feel that he wasn't fighting his inner demons all by his own.

As the baker listened to Sweeney's quiet sobs, tears welled in her own eyes too as it became clear to her once more how this beautiful man was broken by the unfairness and cruelty of the world. Mrs. Lovett didn't speak any words of comfort to the barber, for they would be empty and useless anyway. Of course it would be appropriate to say that everything would be fine, but they both had found out the hard way that their endings wouldn't necessarily be happy ones.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Mrs. Lovett didn't speak any words of comfort to Sweeney as his tears fell freely for the very first time; there were no words to describe the horrors he had been through the greater part of his life after all.

She held him and just waited, like she had done for so many years, until the tears stopped dropping on her at last. She caressed his back tenderly, even as he stopped crying, hoping that he knew that he wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

"I'm sorry," he said, minutes later. "I shouldn't have come here. It was ridiculous. I thought I could help you, but I only made things worse."

"Mr. T," she said firmly, while she forced his chin up so she could look into his eyes. "Now listen to me. You mustn't be ashamed of what you did. You helped me so much by doing what you did. You just gave me one of the most beautiful moments of my life."

Mr. Todd stared at his landlady, not believing what she said at first and, more important, what they actually suggested. Her words dawned on him only slowly. Perhaps the moment that they just had shared made things clearer for him, but now it actually all started to make sense. The fact that she had looked after him, the way she helped him getting his revenge all this time...

Slowly, very slowly, he realized the reason for all this. She was in love with him – it had to be. It was the only explanation. In spite of everything, she was in love with him. This knowledge didn't explode within him as it should have. Somehow, her love for him had always been there – it had always been clear somehow, he had just never realized it, but it couldn't really surprise him now.

At that moment, he was too aware of how close they still were to each other, and of the fact that his shirt was lying on the floor, out of his reach.

Yet, he found himself incapable of moving away from her. Instead, he allowed her to pull a blanket over him so his back wasn't exposed to the chilly air of the bedroom anymore. It was odd, lying beneath the covers of a warm bed that belonged to the woman he had just shared a passionate kiss with.

"I never knew," the barber said.

"What didn't you know?" she asked, surprised.

"About your... feelings for me," he replied slowly, realizing that the woman didn't know that he had just figured her out at last.

Her eyes moved nervously over his face, looking for his intentions.

"If you would've known," she whispered, "would it... would it have made a difference?"

"No," he said, truthfully. Even if he had been aware of the fact the baker was in love with him, he wouldn't have given in to her feelings. But now... things were different.

"And does it.... make a difference _now_?"

Her voice was so soft that he had trouble hearing it, but the question was clear, even without the actual sound of her voice. It was the only question that could follow, since he was suddenly rather sure that she had read the doubt in his eyes.

"Yes. I think it makes a difference now."

He wasn't sure what to do, or if the answer that he had given was a right and honest one. He cared for her, but he had no idea to what extent exactly.

"When I came here," Sweeney said quietly as he took his landlady's hand and gently caressed her skin with his thumb, "I hoped to fight the injustice caused by another Turpin by helping you. But things got out of hand, and instead of helping you because of what the Judge's brother did, I want to help you now because of yourself. And instead of feeling bad about kissing you like I had expected and like I should have, I found myself _enjoying_ it. Something inside of me that seemed to be gone, seems to come alive when I hold you."

Mrs. Lovett couldn't believe her ears. Not because Sweeney had said more to her in a few minutes than he had spoken in all those weeks since he had returned to London, but because of the meaning of the words that he had said to her.

He wasn't declaring that he loved her, certainly not, but at least she had an idea now of what was going on behind the facade of his blank face, and the thoughts that swirled around in his head.

"I don't want to give you any false hope," he said as he carefully moved away from her. "You probably wish that I'll changed my mind regarding Lucy, that I'll stop loving her one day. Perhaps I will, but..."

The demon barber stared off into space again, but this time Mrs. Lovett didn't really mind since she at least somehow understood now what he was thinking of.

"It's ironic," the barber suddenly said. "Lucy always said that if something would happen to us, if we couldn't be together anymore for whatever reason... she always said to me, that she would go on with her life without me, and that she expected me to do the same thing if it would be the other way around. Not because she didn't love me, but because she loved me so _much _that she wanted me to be happy, even if I had to find that happiness in a life without her. She used to say that we should find a new love if one of us wouldn't be there anymore, and that we should find happiness again without feeling guilty about it."

As the barber said the words, the disbelief was clear in his voice, as if he still couldn't understand what his wife had meant all those years ago.

"I know that she would want me to live on, but... I can't forget her, Nellie. The memories fade, no matter what I do, but I can't forget her. Even if I _wanted _to start something new, I simply _couldn't. _It kills me inside, it really does."

Without saying one more word, Sweeney quickly left the room without bothering to pick up his shirt, leaving a bewildered Mrs. Lovett behind.

She stared at the door he had vanished through for several minutes, before she collapsed on her bed. She was unable of understanding or realizing what had just happened, but she did at least know that it was good. Finally she felt strong and self assured enough to fully live life again, and the best part was that Mr. Todd had helped her with that. He had said that he couldn't love her and he probably meant it, but the demon barber had changed his opinions in the past before, hadn't he? He had said that he would never move on and forget about his wife, but now he had just been saying with his own mouth that he _wanted_ to move on but _couldn't_, and that his wife had in fact _encouraged_ him to look for someone else in case something would happen to her. Mrs. Lovett had never thought that she would ever _like _Lucy for something that she had said or done, but now she felt a lot of gratitude for the now crazy blond woman.

Yes, the baker felt that change was in the air and that, for once, it would be in her favor. It seemed that there was hope after all.

When Mrs. Lovett fell asleep a few minutes later, her dreams weren't tormented by memories of Peter Turpin anymore. Instead, she dreamed about Mr. Todd and herself and their wedding by the sea.


	14. Chapter 14

_It took me a very, very long time to write this, especially because the first version of this chapter died along with the hard disk of my laptop. But here it is at last, a new chapter, which is unfortunately also the last one of this story. _

_However, the first chapter of **Miracles**_, _my third multi chapter Sweenett fanfic, is on its way! _

_This is the first multi chapter story that I ever finished writing and I want to thank everyone who read this, and especially the ones who reviewed as well, for doing so. If it weren't for you, my stories would never make it to the net ;) _

* * *

Chapter 14

The next day, Mrs. Lovett woke up early, as she always did. But this time, she didn't wake because of the terrifying memories of Peter Turpin that haunted her, but because she intuitively felt that this was the right moment to get up.

Automatically, she put on her working clothes and only when she walked from her bedroom to the shop to check how many batches of pies were already done, like she had done for the greater part of her life, she was reminded again of what had happened a few weeks ago.

The realization that the room she had intended to go to was probably going to be visited by men like Peter Turpin made her stop dead in her tracks in her parlor as panic took over her. How could she have been able to forget about _that_?

"Nellie," someone said suddenly.

The baker turned around quickly towards the sound, thus seeing Sweeney Todd who was sitting on a couch in her living room and looked as if he had been there for quite some time, as if he had been _waiting_ for her.

"Nellie," he said again, "it's alright. There's no one there yet. At least you can take a look, don't you think?"

He offered her to take his hand and, quite hesitantly, she did.

"Don't let him win," was all he said.

She knew exactly what he was talking about. If she wouldn't allow Mr. Todd to help her to get her usual cheerful and optimistic nature back, she would be locked up in her own home like a prisoner for the rest of her life. She would do no one a favor, except for men like the Turpins who thought so lowly of women.

Like Mrs. Lovett had done often in the past, she wondered if Sweeney made all this effort because of some sort of personal battle against the Turpins; that it was another way to revenge the terrible things that were done to him and the ones he loved. But the look in Sweeney's eyes was one of genuine concern.

She held his extended hand more firmly and together, they entered the pie shop. Mrs. Lovett took a deep breath while doing so, part of her expecting the ghost of Peter Turpin to jump her the minute she stepped into the room, but of course this didn't happen. And with Sweeney Todd at her side, she felt safe enough to proceed.

She walked towards the middle of the room, not aware that Sweeney remained near the threshold, and she looked around but her back was to the corner where Peter Turpin had attempted to rape her.

The shop was like it had always been, safe and familiar. But when she turned around slightly, attempting to look at the table, pressed against which she had experienced the most terrifying moments of her life, fear overwhelmed her again. She could almost _see_ Turpin sitting there, ridiculing her and threatening her, his hands greedily moving over her body.

Panicking, Mrs. Lovett stepped back, and screamed when someone grabbed her from behind.

"It's alright," Sweeney said reassuringly. "He's a memory, nothing more. His brother will be gone soon too. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore."

Her knees buckled in fear, but Mr. Todd was right behind her, helping her to remain standing on her weakened legs.

"Try to look at it," he said, and while he remained holding her tightly, he spun the two of them around, so they were facing the corner in which Mrs. Lovett's life had taken such a drastic turn.

The baker's breath quickened as she was forced to look at the table and the memories of what had happened there two weeks ago forced themselves upon her. But after a minute, the initial fear lessened and she was able to watch the table without trembling.

And then, Sweeney walked towards the table slowly, leaving Mrs. Lovett standing in the middle of the room, and sat down on the place where Peter Turpin once had sat. Mr. Todd gestured to the baker to come towards him.

Mrs. Lovett bit her lip, and after a moment of hesitation she took a step in the barber's direction, and another one, and another one, until she was standing right in front of him.

"Good," he whispered, "now, come closer to me."

Once again he offered her his hand, but no matter how gladly she would take it in any other situation, the current location made it impossible for her to take his hand.

But Sweeney just kept looking at her, wordlessly encouraging her to overcome her fear, and after another minute, she closed the distance between them and sat down in his lap like he gestured her to do.

"See? It's just you and me, nothing to be afraid of."

She sighed, knowing that he was right, and embraced him tenderly.

But as she was gently holding and held by the barber, another thought hit her, a thought that was almost just as terrifying as her nightmares in which Peter Turpin returned to her to finish what he had started.

"Mistah T," Nellie whispered, "if I go to work today, if we pretend that nothin' ever 'appened to me, does that mean that this… thing between us never 'appened as well?"

Sweeney stared at her as she carefully said those words, as if he had expected this question but not as soon as now, and that he didn't have an answer to it yet.

"I don't know," he said quietly. "I had sworn to myself that I would never _look_ at another woman, but I'm beginning to see what Lucy was talking about all those years ago. It is impossible to keep loving someone when that person is gone, even if you try with all you have. At first, I only looked after you because I didn't want you to end up like Lucy did. Not because I cared for _you_, but because if something bad would happen to you, it would be another victory to the Turpins. But when I began taking care of you, when I actually paid attention to you…"

He didn't finished his sentence, but as he caressed her hair carefully and pulled her closer to him, wrapping a protective arm around her, she knew exactly what he meant. But at the same time, he sighed deeply, causing the baker to pull slightly away from him, feeling that she wouldn't like what he was going to say next.

"I don't know Nellie, I honestly don't know. You're a special woman, I care for you, a lot, but…"

"I'm not Lucy," she said, finishing his sentence.

He nodded, causing Mrs. Lovett to look at the floor, hoping that Mr. Todd wouldn't see her disappointment this way. But, of course, he did.

"But," he continued however, "I didn't say that… I can't stay that I love you, but I can promise you that I'll be there for you, to try to help you."

He looked at her intently but in spite of his grave words and gaze, she couldn't suppress a smile.

"Yeh've got no idea how happy I am to 'ear yeh say that," she said, sighing.

"But…" he said, clearly confused. "I just said that I can't love you… I can't see why that makes you happy."

"I think yeh care much more about me than yeh think," Mrs. Lovett said, still unable to stop smiling. "The fact yeh support me the way yeh do tells me that there could be somethin' between us. It'll be different than with yer wife, I'm not Lucy after all, but I can promise yeh that I'll be as devoted to yeh as she was, and that I'll love yeh just as much if yeh give me the chance."

Mr. Todd remained silent for a long moment and she feared that she had gone too far, but then he took her hand in his own and moved his face to kiss her knuckles. She didn't know why he did this, but the sensation of his lips and tongue against her skin was something that she could only enjoy.

"Perhaps you're right," he said, his hand caressing the side of her face, before he leant closer to her and, when she didn't pull back and instead moved closer to him, brushed his lips against hers. Her hands weaved into his hair and as he deepened the kiss at this sign of affection, she melted against his body.

Never had someone kissed her as tenderly as the demon barber was doing at that very moment. She only wished that there would be more moments like this, those forbidden seconds of bliss, but for the time being, the mere memories of this kiss would be more than enough to keep her hoping.

When the kiss came to a natural end and they stared into each other's eyes, there was something more than worry or even lust written in the barber's gaze and Mrs. Lovett's heart beat fast with joy, because it seemed to be something dangerously close to _love_. Yes, it was there, even though it was well hidden and Mr. Todd didn't seem to fully realize it himself yet. But she would give him time, all the time he needed.

"It's almost seven o'clock," he said, breaking the moment. "If you want to open your shop, you have to do it now."

She nodded, knowing that he was right.

"But please Mistah T, keep an eye on me and help me if somethin' happens."

"I will," he replied gently.

She headed for the parlor, waking Toby. When the boy saw that she was wearing her working clothes and seemed to be spending a day in her shop, he smiled brightly and hugged his adoptive mother with much enthusiasm. While he did so, Mrs. Lovett looked up to see Mr. Todd watching them. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear that there was a hint of a smile on his lips.

"I'll look after you Mum," Toby said when he stepped back. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"I know love, I know," she said, very moved because of the boy's affection for her. "And now, let's go to work."

Toby headed for the pie shop where he opened the doors for the already arriving customers. Mrs. Lovett took a deep breath of air when the first people entered the shop. She feared the gossip of the women and most of all, possible terrifying gazes from men. Instead, some of her customers mostly ignored her like they usually did, but the majority congratulated her for her 'recovery' and praised her while she brought them their pies.

Within half an hour, it felt to Mrs. Lovett as if she had never been gone from work, let alone for such quite a long time. Sweeney had returned to his tonsorial parlor, but the thought that he was watching over her gave her the sense of security she needed. And indeed, often she found him standing just outside his shop, keeping an eye on her. She smiled at him, like she always did when she saw him, but this time, he actually returned the greeting.

This fact, combined with the joy she found in her work, made her heart beat in the way that it was supposed to, but had not done before. Never in her life had she felt so happy, and although the shadow that Peter Turpin had cast on her never left her alone fully, she was, in a strange way, grateful for what the brothers Turpin had done.

Of course, the actions they both had committed were horrible, but if it weren't for them, she wouldn't be as happy as she was now. If the Judge wouldn't have banished Benjamin Barker and would've left Lucy alone, the barber would never be the man who he was today. He had become a different man, a much darker man, filled with so much rage and aggression that even she feared him sometimes, and he still didn't care for her.

But as Mrs. Lovett had become more and more desperate for his love, no matter what he did to her or no matter how much he ignored her, Peter Turpin had made her so scared and vulnerable, so much like _Lucy_, that Sweeney had felt forced to look after her. And because of this he had finally _noticed _her, and something much, _much _better was developing now.

No matter how strange it seemed, there was more hope than there had ever been. Her current life was better than she had ever hoped or even dreamed of; it was the perfect reality.

THE END


End file.
